UNDER 

THE 
VIERKLEUR 


GENERAL 

BEN 
VILJOEN 


rrms  SPECIAL  EDITION 

IS  ISSUED  AS  A 

'SOW/ENIR  or  THE 

REPRODUCTION  OF 

BATTLES  OF  THE 
JNGLOHBOER  WAI 

AT  THE 
[LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  EXPOSITION | 

'ST.  LOUIS.  Missoum.usA 


SOUHMNLY  BY  THE 
[SOUTH  AFRICAN  BOER  WAR 
EXHIBITION  COMPANY^ 


mar.  or  CAUF.  U«»AOT. 


UNDER  THE  VIERKLEUR 


UNDER 
THE   VIERKLEUR 

A  Romance  of  a  Lost  Cause 

By 
BEN  J.  VILJOEN 

Late  Assistant  Commandant- General  of 

the  Transvaal   Burgher  Forces,  and  Author  of 

" My  Reminiscences  of  the  Anglo-Boer  ffar." 


Boston 

Small,  Maynard  &  Company 
1904 


Copyright  1904  by 
Small,  Maynard  o°  Company 

(Incorporated) 


Entered  at  Stationer?  Hall 


First  Edition  (7,000  copies]  April,  1904 


Press  of 
George  H.  Ellis  Co.,  Boston,  U.S.A. 


To  THE  DEAREST  WOMAN  ON  EARTH, 
MY  MOTHER. 


2133344 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Portrait  of  the  Author Frontispiece 

FACING  PACK 

"A  rifle  swung  high  above  his  head  " 36 

"The  surprised  and  pained  animal  made  a  mighty 

leap" 112 

"Bettie  had  been  riding  ahead  of  the  wagon"  .    .    .    192 

^ "  Two  great  lines  of  cavalry  were  sweeping  in  at  a 

full  gallop" 298 

"Before  him  stood  Bettie, ...  her  arms  outstretched"     382 


With  the  exception  of  the  frontispiece,  the  illustrations 
are  from  drawings  by  I.  B.  HazeUon. 


TO    THE    READER. 

Before  presenting  this  book  to  a  foreign  and 
a  critical  public,  I  want  to  offer  a  few  anticipa- 
tory words  of  explanation.  In  the  first  place,  the 
story  is  based  on  and  its  scenes  are  drawn  from 
actual  episodes  of  the  late  war  in  South  Africa. 
I  can  guarantee  the  actuality,  in  more  than  gen- 
eral outline,  of  most  of  the  incidents  and  episodes 
I  have  described ;  for  the  majority  of  them  were 
drawn  from  my  own  experience,  while  the  rest 
were  told  me  by  friends  and  acquaintances  who 
passed  through  them  and  who  played  their  parts 
in  them.  Insomuch,  then,  my  story  may  be  found 
removed  from  the  ordinary  tale  of  the  tragedy  or 
romance  of  American  or  European  daily  life. 

I  have  tried  to  present  my  characters  as  truly 
and  as  characteristically  as  I  could,  without  bear- 
ing too  much  either  on  their  follies  or  their  hero- 
isms, the  innate  gentleness  and  simplicity  of 
heart  of  their  prototypes,  or  their  general  lack  of 
those  refinements  of  modern  culture  which  the 
wide  establishment  of  schools  and  systems  of 
higher  education  alone  can  supply.  For  I  come 
vii 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  a  simple  people,  and  as  such  I  have  tried  to 
describe  them. 

The  Afrikander  of  the  Republics  has  grown 
up  in  tumultuous  times.  Occupied  in  pioneering, 
in  opening  up  new  and  wild  countries,  in  fighting 
for  his  existence  against  wild  animals  and  wilder 
savages,  he  has  so  far  had  little  opportunity  for 
the  cultivation  of  his  natural  talents  and  abilities 
in  quieter  lines  of  development  and  knowledge. 
Educational  institutions  were  remote  and  diffi- 
cult to  reach.  His  crude  surroundings  helped 
to  mark  him  with  their  imprint,  without,  how- 
ever, changing  or  hardening  his  conception  of 
moral  law,  or  his  sure  instincts  concerning  what 
is  just  and  what  is  honourable.  As  a  race,  he  has 
neglected,  carelessly  and  with  a  most  regrettable 
indifference,  to  contradict  any  of  the  misleading, 
the  fabulous  statements  that  for  so  many  years 
have  been  sown  broadcast  with  regard  to  him. 
The  Bible  he  accepted  as  his  indisputable  law 
book,  from  which  he  drew  his  moral  and  social 
guidance.  And  to  such  moral  ideals  and  social 
dictations  as  the  Bible  offers,  he  has  always  clung, 
still  dings,  insistently,  even  doggedly. 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

It  has  been  somewhat  ungracefully  admitted 
since  the  war  that  to  some  extent  that  conflict 
demonstrated  the  Afrikander  to  be  possessed  of 
high  and  even  noble  principles,  revealed  on  many 
a  field  of  battle;  that  his  generous  conduct,  his 
chivalry  toward  his  many  wounded  and  captured 
opponents,  was  worthy  of  any  civilised  race.  I 
hope  I  shall  not  be  accused  of  flippancy  or  inso- 
lence when  1  admit  that  as  a  race  we  are  too 
sublimely  ignorant  to  appreciate  a  compliment  so 
cheap,  so  stupid,  reeking  of  so  much  contempt. 

I  do  not  feel  the  necessity  of  offering  an  apology 
to  any  of  our  late  opponents,  should  anything  in 
this  book  hurt  their  susceptibilities;  for  this  is 
intended  to  be  no  indictment  of  wrongs  committed, 
no  attempt  at  paying  off  old  scores.  It  is  simply 
a  story  told  without  regard  to  person  or  creed, — 
a  story  the  elements  of  which  any  Boer  of  South 
Africa  knows  by  heart,  one  that  every  English- 
man who  took  part  in  the  war  must  recognise  as 
fair  and  unbiassed. 

My  only  and  conscientious  desire,  when  I 
commenced  this  work,  was  to  place  on  record  a 
small  picture  of  the  life  and  character  of  my 
ix 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

people,  overshadowed  by  war  though  I  had  to 
draw  it,  and  to  try  to  do  some  little  further  jus- 
tice to  a  nation  so  sadly  misunderstood  and  so 
long  maligned.  That  I  wrote  it  in  English,  in- 
stead of  having  it  translated  from  my  mother 
tongue,  was  solely  from  the  fear  of  losing  by 
translation  some  of  my  real  meaning.  Much  of 
my  sympathy  has  gone  out  to  the  dear  and  pa- 
tient American  friend  who  assisted  me  in  my 
work,  and  in  putting  the  manuscript  into  shape 
for  publication. 

BEN  J.  VILJOEN. 

ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  U.S.A. 
April,  1904. 


UNDER 

THE 
VIERKLEUR 

BOOK  I. 


CHAPTER    I. 


IT  was  a  cool  September  afternoon.  The 
cold,  sharp  north-east  wind,  so  rare  during 
the  South  African  winter  months,  had  quieted 
down  to  an  almost  significant  calm.  The  dry 
leaves  of  the  weeping-willow  and  tall  blue-gum 
trees  scarcely  moved.  The  bright  but  cold  sun 
was  fast  disappearing  over  the  western  horizon, 
and  shed  its  golden  rays  in  a  last  splendour 
across  the  looming  Sekoekoenie  Hills.  And 
through  the  neks  of  the  first  ranges,  steeped 
in  the  purpling  shadows  of  the  Sekoekoenie, 
you  could  see  the  towering  peaks  of  the  Lunu- 
bergen,  far  to  the  north-east  of  Lydenburg 
in  the  northern  Transvaal. 

The  vast  shadows  cast  by  the  randten, 
which  almost  entirely  enclose  the  wide  Orig- 
stadt  valley,  seemed  to  add  to  the  silence  reign- 
ing over  the  isolated  Boer  homestead  that  lay 
nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  hills.  Baakenhoogte 
— for  so  the  farm  was  named — enjoyed  the 
reputation  of  an  ideal  Boer  plaats:  at  this 
evening  hour  its  ideality  was  almost  impressive. 
3 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  softened  outlines  of  the  gums  and  willows, 
the  neat  green  hedges  around  the  gardens,  the 
crystalline  stream  that  rippled  merrily  down 
its  course  and  past  the  front  door  of  the  home- 
stead,— all  seemed  to  whisper  in  Nature's  own 
gentle  voice  of  the  supremacy  of  peace. 

The  little  lambs  were  playing  about  the  kraal, 
jumping  from  one  stone  to  another  and  indulg- 
ing now  and  then  in  a  harmless  contest  with 
their  soft  unhorned  heads.  They  could  al- 
ready hear  the  welcome  bleating  of  the  ewes 
in  the  distance,  as  the  herd  was  being  driven 
home  by  old  Mintoor,  the  shepherd,  whose 
"hok,  hok,"  and  whistle  grew  more  and  more 
distinct.  The  calves  uplifted  appealing  voices 
to  their  mothers  in  the  second  enclosure,  where 
the  cows  were  temporarily  separated  from  their 
anxious  offspring  until  the  boys  should  have 
milked  them.  Little  Kaatje  had  washed  and 
rinsed  the  buckets,  and  was  pouring  warm 
water  over  the  hands  of  the  milk-boys,  Kiewiet 
and  Klynjong,  who  perforce  made  this  unwill- 
ing toilet  regularly  before  they  went  to  the 
milking.  The  horses,  returned  from  the  veldt, 
4 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

were  standing  patiently  by  the  stables  to  be 
let  in ;  for  the  nights  were  chilly,  and  they  knew 
what  awaited  them  in  the  manger. 

Fanie  Linde,  Baakenhoogte's  owner,  was 
seated  under  the  veranda  on  the  old  Koejaten- 
hout  rustbank,  or  sofa,  whence  he  could  see 
the  kraals  and  gardens  while  chatting  with  his 
wife.  He  was  a  Boer  of  the  old  Voortrekker 
stock,  whose  seventy  years  had  left  him  with 
a  short  but  thick  and  silvery  beard  and  a  crop 
oL,dazzling  hair,  cut,  fringe-like,  low  about  his 
forehead.  Tanta  Annie,  ten  years  his  junior, 
who  sat  near  him,  radiated  amiability  and  good- 
nature from  a  still  smooth  face.  The  two  un- 
married daughters  were  picking  roses  in  the 
garden  in  front  of  the  house ;  while  Danie,  their 
only  brother,  a  finely  built  young  fellow  of 
twenty-five,  whose  strong  and  rather  sharp 
features  clearly  indicated  his  Huguenot  de- 
scent, was  engaged  in  off-saddling  in  front  of 
the  porch,  having  just  returned  from  the  wheat 
and  corn  fields  where  he  had  been  superintend- 
ing the  ploughing  and  harrowing  since  early 
morning.  Before  the  young  man  could  mount 
5 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  steps  to  join  his  parents,  the  elder  sister, 
Lenie,  called  to  him  from  the  flower  garden. 

"Danie,"  she  quavered,  "we  see  a  horseman 
coming  up  the  big  road  from  the  Rustplaats. 
Can  it  be  the  commandeerman  from  the  veldt- 
cornet  already  calling  out  the  burghers?" 

The  general  uneasiness  due  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  strained  relations  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  two  Republics  was  immediately  made 
evident  by  the  start  with  which  the  rest  of  this 
quiet  and  typical  family  greeted  her  announce- 
ment. Danie,  the  first  to  recover  himself, 
straightened  up  with  a  laugh. 

"Well,"  he  drawled,  "what  if  it  is?  My 
Mauser  is  cleaned,  my  belt  filled,  and  the  bil- 
tong and  biscuits  are  ready." 

"My  son,"  spoke  his  mother,  quickly,  "do 
not  make  a  jest  of  war.  It  is  too  cruel  a  thing." 
She  shuddered.  She  knew,  alas!  only  too  well 
how  cruel.  "May  the  good  Lord  avert  it!" 

Her  early  life  rose  before  her, — its  struggles, 
its  hardships,  the  endless  wars  of  the  Repub- 
lic, what  with  the  fierce  native  tribes  or  with 
its  old  enemy, — and  the  already  half-satisfied 
6 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

hopes  of  a  peaceful  and  quiet  age,  the  half- 
realised  dream  of  a  home  happy  within,  un- 
vexed  from  without,  clouded  with  new  and 
pregnant  fears.  Devotedly  attached  to  Danie, 
her  only  son,  she  foresaw  what  awaited  her, — 
the  inevitable  heart-break  of  his  departure, 
perhaps  never  to  return. 

Oom  Fanie  remained  silent;  but  his  set  face 
showed  unmistakably  the  painful  nature  of 
his  thoughts.  Lenie  and  Elsie  joined  the  others 
on^  the  porch,  tremblingly  awaiting  the  ap- 
proach of  the  ominous  visitor.  Danie  seized 
his  field-glass,  and  levelled  it  at  the  horseman. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  placing  the  glass  on  the  win- 
dow-sill, "it  really  is  Pieter,  the  son  of  the 
veldt-cornet.  I  recognise  the  horse  with  the 
white  face,  too." 

"I  knew  it,"  said  the  sad  mother,  with  a  sigh. 

"Why,  mother,"  said  Elsie,  trying  to  comfort 
her,  "perhaps  Pieter  is  only  coming  on  a 
visit."  But  she  knew  her  words  belied  her 
thought,  and  subsided  into  a  frightened  silence. 

In  a  minute  the  rider  came  around  the  corner 
of  the  garden  wall,  and  drew  up  in  front  of  the 
7 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

door.  Dismounting,  he  greeted  the  family 
according  to  slow  custom,  his  hat  in  his  left 
hand.  He  shook  hands  individually,  commenc- 
ing with  Oom  Fanie,  and  took  the  proffered 
seat.  His  formal  and  unwonted  manner, — 
for  Pieter  was  a  near  neighbour  and  intimate 
enough  with  the  Linde  family, — and  the  look 
of  importance  (ill-restrained  by  courtesy)  on  his 
face,  completed  their  conviction  that  his  errand 
was  no  ordinary  one. 

"Well,"  he  said  finally,  "my  time  is  limited, 
Oom  Fanie;  and  the  sooner  I  make  you  ac- 
quainted with  the  purpose  of  my  visit,  the  bet- 
ter we  shall  all  feel." 

The  women  spoke  almost  in  the  same  breath. 
"Pieter,  is  it  war?" 

He  did  not  look  at  them  or  give  a  direct  an- 
swer. "All  the  burghers  between  sixteen  and 
sixty  years  are  called  to  arms  to  protect  the 
frontiers,"  he  replied.  "I  have  been  sent  to 
commandeer  Danie,  and  to  appoint  him  com- 
mandeerman  in  my  place  to  call  out  the  rest 
of  the  burghers  in  the  ward.  Oom  Fanie,  of 
course,  is  over  sixty.  Therefore,  I  have  but  to 
8 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

order  from  him  a  wagon  and  span  of  oxen  com- 
plete for  the  commando.  The  burghers  are 
to  assemble  in  the  dorp  at  four  o'clock  to- 
morrow, so  there  isn't  much  time  to  lose.  Can 
you  go  at  once,  Danie?" 

Danie  Linde  turned,  and  hurriedly  left  the 
porch  without  a  word;  but  his  haste  indicated 
his  eager  determination.  The  three  women 
followed  Pieter  Bodenstein  to  his  horse,  del- 
uging him  with  questions.  The  unhappy  emis- 
sary was  scarcely  able  to  answer  one  of  them, 
and,  feeling  himself  partly  responsible  for  their 
tears,  prepared  to  make  off  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  father  was  left  sitting  alone  on  the  porch. 
He  recalled  the  many  Kaffir  wars  he  had  seen ; 
the  great  war  for  freedom  in  1880,  in  which  he 
had  fought  as  an  officer.  He  mourned  the  age 
that  would  now  no  longer  allow  him  to  fight 
for  his  country,  and  yet  thought  of  his  son,  the 
real  hope  of  his  life,  with  mingled  grief  and 
pride.  He  had  no  doubt  of  Danie's  conduct- 
ing himself  in  a  manner  worthy  of  his  tradi- 
tions ;  he  knew  that  he  was  brave  and  patriotic, 
in  the  prime  of  his  youth  and  strength;  he  was 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

proud  to  be  able  to  send  such  a  substitute  to 
the  service  of  his  country.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  feared,  like  most  brave  fathers,  lest  his  son 
be  too  brave, — lest  he  throw  himself  away,  a 
victim  to  a  too  ambitious  daring;  and  the  in- 
numerable dangers  that  insidiously  flank  the 
straighter  path  of  the  bullet  lowered  darkly 
before  his  mind. 

Danie  in  the  mean  time  had  saddled  his  horse 
and  returned,  ready  for  his  all-night  ride. 

"Mother,"  he  said,  as  he  took  her  in  his  arms, 
"see  that  the  wagon  and  oxen  are  all  ready 
for  the  commando,  will  you?  I  shall  be  back 
here,  with  the  Lord's  help,  by  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  to  spend  a  few  more  hours  with 
you.  After  that  I  shall  have  to  leave  for  the 
dorp  to  join  the  other  burghers  by  four." 

She  nodded,  unable  to  speak,  and  made  way 
for  his  sisters  to  embrace  him.  Then  Danie 
climbed  to  his  saddle,  and  rode  away  to  fulfil 
his  first  military  commission,  leaving  his  mother 
to  support  as  best  she  could  an  absence  which, 
although  only  temporary,  was  a  truly  bitter 
taste  of  what  was  to  follow. 
10 


CHAPTER    II. 


SEATED  by  her  bedroom  window  at  the 
lonely  homestead  of  Blaauwkop,  in  the 
district  of  Ermelo,  was  a  pretty  girl  of  barely 
eighteen  years,  bla. ^-haired  and  black-eyed,  the 
tears  coursing  undisturbed  down  her  round  red 
cheeks.  Her  name  was  Bettie,  and  she  was  the 
youngest  daughter  of  Dirk  Uys,  the  master  of 
Blaauwkop.  She  had  been  at  her  home  but 
a_few  weeks,  having  returned  from  Pretoria, 
where  she  had  spent  the  better  part  of  three 
years  at  school  in  the  State  Seminary.  An 
old  friendship  with  Danie  Linde,  renewed  and 
strengthened  by  his  frequent  visits  to  her  home 
during  her  vacation  periods,  had  budded,  upon 
her  last  and  final  return  from  school,  into  an 
engagement,  sanctioned  as  well  by  their  par- 
ents as  by  the  deep  and  sincere  love  the  two 
young  people  bore  each  other. 

On  the  same  day  on  which  Pieter  Boden- 

stein  so  effectually  visited  the  family  at  Baaken- 

hoogte,  the  commandeerman  of  Ermelo  rode 

to  Blaauwkop,  and  notified  Dirk  Uys  and  his 

11 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

three  big  sons  that  they  were  to  appear  the 
next  day  at  the  farm  of  Veldt-cornet  De  Wet, 
where  the  burghers  of  their  ward  were  to  as- 
semble. So  Mrs.  Uys,  like  a  thousand  other 
tearful  Boer  women  all  over  the  country,  had 
that  evening  finished  the  greater  part  of  her 
preparations  for  her  husband's  and  sons'  de- 
parture for  the  frontiers.  Bettie  had  faithfully 
assisted  her,  more  than  once  mingling  her  tears 
with  her  mother's  for  their  common  grief. 

But  Bettie  had  a  sorrow  of  her  own  over 
which  she  preferred  to  weep  in  secret.  She  was 
well  aware  that  her  lover  could  not,  any  more 
than  her  father  and  her  three  brothers,  be 
spared  from  the  ranks  of  those  assembled  to 
defend  the  country;  nor  did  her  pride  for  one 
moment  allow  her  to  indulge  the  hope  that  he 
might  be.  But  the  fact  was  not  altered  that 
Danie  Linde,  her  first  love,  her  only  love,  was 
to  be — was,  indeed,  already — torn  from  her  to 
undergo  the  dreadful  chances  of  a  soldier  on 
the  battlefield,  perhaps  on  many  battlefields, 
and  that  without  even  the  poor  alleviation  of 
a  last  embrace,  a  touch  of  the  hand,  a  look 
12 


UNDER     THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  the  eyes,— nay,  nor  the  briefest  meeting,  if 
only  to  say  farewell. 

After  the  principal  work  of  the  day  was 
finished,  Bettie  had  silently  retired  from  the 
family  circle  to  the  solitude  of  her  own  little 
room,  where  she  might  give  rein  to  her  sor- 
row and  disappointment  without  restraint  or 
embarrassment. 

"0  Danie,  Danie,"  she  cried,  "have  they 
taken  you  away  from  me  without  even  a  fare- 
well? No,  no,  it  is  impossible!" 
*  The  evening  wind  was  blowing  softly  through 
the  window.  She  pushed  it  further  open,  and, 
leaning  her  elbows  on  the  sill,  bathed  her  hot 
cheeks  in  the  welcome  breeze.  Her  thoughts 
wandered  into  an  unknown  future,  her  imagi- 
nation ran  dark  riot  amid  strange  scenes  in 
unknown  places.  She  saw  Danie  riding  away 
from  her  on  his  brown  horse,  his  rifle  and  bando- 
lier slung  over  his  shoulder.  His  face  was  stead- 
ily turned  away;  but  his  manly  figure  com- 
pelled her  admiration,  held  her  love.  She 
knew  he  was  brave,  that  he  was  to  distinguish 
himself.  She  saw  him  ride  into,  then  rage  in 
13 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  very  heat  of  battle,  striking,  smiting,  shout- 
ing, encouraging  his  comrades  by  word  as  well 
as  deed.  She  saw  the  thousand  English  close 
in  on  the  gallant  little  band  of  Boer  heroes. 
She  saw  her  lover  carried  at  last  from  the  bat- 
tlefield, bleeding  from  many  wounds,  laid  down 
on  a  rough  stretcher  in  the  meagre  field-hos- 
pital, his  eyes  closed,  a  deathly  paleness  on  his 
face.  And  her  own  face  grew  as  white  as  she 
saw  his.  His  vividly  imagined  agonies  she 
all  but  suffered  in  her  own  tender  flesh. 

So  deeply  was  she  engaged  in  this  self-torture, 
so  far  had  she  projected  her  mind  into  the  un- 
real, that  she  did  not  perceive  her  mother, 
who,  attracted  by  the  girl's  sobs,  had  entered 
the  room  and  stood  beside  her.  A  touch  on 
her  shoulder  roused  her. 

"Bettie,  my  child,"  said  Mrs.  Uys,  "do  not 
weep  so  much.  You  only  make  my  sorrows 
the  harder  to  bear.  Your  father  and  brothers 
are  going  to  the  war  under  the  banner  of  faith, 
and  our  prayers  will  constantly  be  with  them." 

Bettie  turned  dumbly,  and  clutched  tighter 
the  photograph  in  her  hand.  Her  mother  saw 
14 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR* 

the  motion,  and  understood.  For  a  moment 
she  did  not  speak,  so  completely  was  her 
heart  occupied  with  the  pangs  of  its  own  part- 
ings. Then  she  kissed  Bettie  tenderly. 

"My  child,"  she  said,  "God's  hand  and  His 
care  are  stronger  warrants  for  Danie's  safety 
than  anything  else.  The  Boer  cause  is  a  just 
cause,  and  we  need  not  fear  lest  He  forsake 
us.  Have  faith  with  me,  and  we  shall  be  the 
better  consoled." 

^Bettie  returned  the  warm  embrace,  and 
promised;  yet,  although  she  would  not  have 
admitted  it,  her  vague  fears  were  not  stilled 
by  her  efforts  at  faith,  but  rather  trembled  lest, 
as  Napoleon  said,  God  fought  on  the  side  of 
the  strongest  battalions.  She  had  read  of 
wars  in  other  countries;  and  she  knew  the  his- 
tory of  her  own  people.  In  the  old  Kaffir 
wars  many  members  of  her  family  had  fallen, 
while  during  the  War  of  Independence  one  of 
her  brothers  had  died,  at  Amajuba  in  1881. 
She  saw  here  little  reward  for  her  mother's 
faith.  But  of  this  she  said  nothing,  and  only 
prayed  the  harder. 

15 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE  two  Republics  of  the  Transvaal  and 
the  Orange  Free  State  rushed  their 
righting  forces  to  the  frontiers  at  the  begin- 
ning of  October,  1899.  British  troops  were 
also  being  poured  into  the  Cape  Colony  and 
Natal  as  fast  as  the  steamers  could  bring  them 
over  the  ocean.  The  war  which  had  threat- 
ened so  long,  had  seemed  in  fact  inevitable 
after  the  Jameson  raid  of  1896,  was  suddenly 
hastened  on  by  the  active  and  earnest  prepa- 
rations of  the  willing  contestants.  England 
yearned  for  an  opportunity  to  wipe  out  the 
stains  of  the  defeats  at  Amajuba,  Schuinshoogte, 
and  Bronkhorstspruit  in  1880-81.  The  young 
Afrikanders,  armed  by  their  energetic  govern- 
ment, since  the  famous  raid,  with  the  most  mod- 
ern weapons,  were  on  their  side  far  from  disin- 
clined to  oblige  their  old  enemy.  The  fateful 
llth  of  October — the  date  named  in  the  ultima- 
tum of  Presidents  Steyn  and  Kriiger  as  the  limit 
of  the  time  allowed  England  in  which  to  retract 
or  retreat— was  already  a  day  of  the  past. 
16 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  commando  to  which  Danie  Linde  be- 
longed was  ordered  to  the  Natal  border.  It 
had  to  trek  by  the  wagon-road  as  far  as  Ma- 
chadodorp,  there  to  entrain  and  proceed  by 
rail  through  Pretoria  and  Elandsfontein  to 
Volksrust.  Danie  had  therefore  no  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  Bettie  again.  He  asked  the 
veldt-cornet  to  be  allowed  to  go  by  the  way 
of  Ermelo  and  rejoin  at  Standerton,  but  he 
was  firmly  told  that  it  was  impossible  to  grant 
his  request.  So  he  submitted  to  his  fate,  and 
seht  Bettie  a  telegram  expressing  his  great 
disappointment  at  not  being  able  to  take  leave 
of  her  in  person  for  what,  he  rashly  asserted, 
would  prove  only  a  temporary  absence. 

He  had  said  good-bye  to  his  mother  and  sis- 
ters in  the  little  town  of  Lydenburg,  whither 
they  had  accompanied  him  the  afternoon  he 
left  home.  The  good  lady,  not  content  with 
gathering,  mending,  and  packing  with  her  own 
hands  all  his  clothes  and  equipage  for  the  field, 
had  bought  in  the  village — to  make  sure  that 
he  should  not  want  for  anything — an  extra 
quantity  of  small  articles  (needles  and  thread, 
17 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

soap,  buttons,  towels,  brushes,  and  the  divers 
like),  until  he  had  enough  for  ten  men.  With 
tears  in  her  eyes  she  had  adjured  the  veldt- 
cornet  to  look  after  her  son,  and  had  placed 
Danie  formally  in  his  care. 

After  a  prayer  by  the  local  pastor  the  thou- 
sand horsemen  had  trekked  out  of  Lydenburg 
to  the  round  chant  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Thirty-fourth  Psalm  and  to  the  echo  of  wild 
cheers  for  their  beloved  flag,  the  short-lived 
"Vierkleur."  And,  although  many  a  man  had 
been  weeping  in  the  arms  of  his  mother  or  his 
wife  only  a  moment  before,  never  was  the  na- 
tional anthem  sung  more  warmly,  the  praise 
of  the  Lord  chanted  with  stouter  hearts,  the 
flag  of  their  country  hailed  with  surer  spirit, 
than  at  the  beginning  of  that  march. 

At  Machadodorp,  Danie  received  a  note  from 
Blaauwkop.  "Try  to  come  and  say  good- 
bye," it  read.  "If  you  can't,  it  will  break  my 
heart.  Yet,  if  it  is  really  impossible,  then  God 
keep  you  till  we  meet  again!  Be  as  faithful 
to  your  country  as  to  me." 

He  read  and  reread  the  little  note.  "Ah!" 
18 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

he  whispered,  "she  loves  me  truly.  Yes,  Bet- 
tie;  and  I  will  be  as  faithful  to  you  as  to  my 
country,  dear." 

At  Machadodorp  came  also  the  orders  to  the 
federal  commanders  to  enter  Natal  and  the 
Cape  Colony,— the  first  blow  of  the  war.  Danie 
was  called  to  the  tent  of  his  veldt-cornet. 

"Danie,"  said  the  officer,  "from  to-day  on 
you  are  my  veldt-adjutant  and  secretary.  I 
know  you,  and  you  know  me.  We  are  going 
to  face  the  real  music  now,  and  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  I  and  my  adjutant 
should  understand  each  other." 

"But,"  protested  Danie,  "your  opinion  of 
my  abilities,  although  very  flattering,  is  based 
on  nothing.  I  don't  know  anything  about 
war.  I  only  saw  a  little  life  in  the  field  with 
the  Mapefu  and  Majaatjie  commandos,  and 
this  is  a  war  with  a  white  people  and  a  great 
nation.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  come  up  to 
what  is  expected  of  me.  Couldn't  you  appoint 
some  one  else?" 

The  veldt-cornet  rose  from  his  camp-stool. 
"Your  first  lesson  should  be  to  obey  orders 
19 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

without  question,"  he  said  dryly.  Then, 
"What  nonsense,  boy!"  he  continued  more  ear- 
nestly. "I  know  you  for  an  able  young  fel- 
low. Your  father  was  a  hero  in  his  time,  and 
it  is  possible  that  you  have  inherited  something 
besides  his  modesty.  Moreover,  you  have  had 
the  advantage — rare  enough  among  us,  I  am 
sorry  to  say — of  a  good  education  at  Stellen- 
bosch.  Nobody,  suits  me  better  than  you. 
Don't  refuse  the  first  promotion  that  comes  to 
you,  whether  or  not  you  think  you  have  earned 
it.  Don't  stand  in  your  own  way :  you  will  find 
plenty  of  other  people  there.  There  is,  bar- 
ring accidents,  a  long  future  before  you.  If  it 
is  to  be  a  short  one,  why,  so  much  the  more  do 
you  want  to  make  the  most  of  it.  I  want  you 
to  begin  getting  out  my  orders  at  once.  We 
are  to  march  to-night  with  General  Myer  to 
attack  Dundee.  What  do  you  say  ?  " 

Danie's  dilemma  was  a  brief  one.  In  the 
midst  of  his  doubts  and  reflections,  his  am- 
bition and  his  fear  of  failure,  the  honour  and 
the  difficulty  and  danger  of  the  duties,  the  pride 
that  urged  and  the  inexperience  that  warned 
20 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

him,  came  suddenly  the  thought  of  Bettie, 
and  of  what  he  would  have  to  write  her.  He 
hesitated  no  longer,  and  instinctively  drew 
himself  up  as  he  answered, — 

"Very  well,  Veldt-cornet,  if  you  are  satis- 
fied to  select  me,  I  will  do  my  utmost  both  for 
my  country  and  my" —  His  face  flamed  so 
red  that  the  veldt-cornet  laughed  at  the  be- 
trayal. The  new  adjutant  choked  down  the 
name  upon  his  lips.  —  "my  flag,"  he  con- 
cluded lamely. 

The  veldt-cornet  sat  down  again.  "Very 
well,"  he  said,  "we  will  begin  right  away  with 
the  orders.  The  time  is  all  too  short." 

The  camp  began  to  resemble  a  bee-hive  with 
the  promulgation  of  the  first  order  revealing 
the  intended  advance.  Men  cleaned  their  rifles 
again,  looked  over  their  ammunition,  counted  the 
cartridges  in  their  bandoliers,  forgot  the  count, 
recounted  them  to  forget  again.  Others  were 
strapping  their  overcoats  and  blankets  to  their 
saddles  hours  before  the  movement  was  to 
begin,  and  while  yet  the  coverings  were  needed 
in  the  camp.  An  unhappy  and  half-organ- 
21 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ised  commissary  department  was  distributing 
eight  days'  rations  per  man  to  a  struggling, 
anxious  crowd,  every  man  of  which  wanted 
to  be  first  or  next  served,  and  out  of  it.  The 
slow  wagons  of  the  train  were  being  indiscrimi- 
nately filled,  partly  with  necessaries  of  the 
march,  although  they  were  to  reach  Dundee 
a  whole  week  later  than  the  column.  The  tent 
of  the  veldt-cornet  was  besieged  until  long  after 
dark  by  hosts  of  undisciplined  burghers  after 
one  piece  of  information  or  another;  and  Danie 
found  his  regular  and  official  duties  but  a  drop 
in  the  bucket  with  those  he  was  expected  and 
compelled  by  circumstances  to  order,  arrange, 
and  perform. 

It  was  late,  indeed,  before  he  found  the  time 
to  write  the  letters  that  had  weighed  on  his 
mind  ever  since  his  sudden  promotion.  His 
first  was  to  Bettie.  He  told  her  all  that  had 
happened  up  to  that  time,  and  found  that  he 
mentioned  his  promotion  rather  reluctantly. 
He  thanked  her  for  the  letter  and  for  a  pack- 
age which  had  been  delivered  to  him  from  her. 

"It  was  as  if  I  heard  you  speak,"  he  wrote. 
22 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"  I  am  so  much  happier  since  I  heard  from  you, 
and  am  assured  that  you  do  not  blame  me 
for  not  being  able  to  come  to  you  once  more 
to  say  good-bye.  How  joyfully  would  I  have 
done  it!  The  bracelet  with  the  heart  enclos- 
ing your  picture  I  shall  faithfully  wear  as  a 
living  remembrance  of  my  Bettie. 

"We  leave  in  an  hour.  Our  commando  is 
a  part  of  two  thousand  burghers  who  are  going 
to  march  through  Buffelriver  on  Dundee  to 
attack  the  British  garrison  of  five  thousand 
under  General  Penn  Symons.  You  have  no 
doubt  heard  that  war  has  formally  been  de- 
clared. 

"I  have  still  to  write  to  my  parents,  dear; 
and  already  they  are  beginning  to  saddle  up. 
So  for  this  time  good-bye,  dear  Bettie." 


23 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  night  of  the  20th  of  October  was  draw- 
ing to  an  end.  The  village  of  Dundee 
lay  still  and  unconscious  beneath  the  rapidly 
fading  stars.  The  great  British  camp,  encroach- 
ing upon  the  outskirts  of  the  widely  grouped 
houses  and  stretching  beyond  their  limits  to 
the  south  and  west,  was  beginning  to  take  form 
and  color  under  the  edges  of  the  approaching 
dawn.  The  camp-fires  that  had  so  brightly 
challenged  the  stars  throughout  the  night  were 
dying  down  for  the  want  of  a  now  unneeded 
attention;  and  the  weary  and  unsuspicious 
sentries,  walking  their  last  rounds,  were  al- 
ready looking  forward  to  the  time  when  the 
new  guard  should  be  mounted,  and  congratu- 
lating themselves  on  the  day  of  ease  and  light 
duties  that  would  soon  be  due  them. 

Beyond  the  town  and  camp  to  the  north  and 
east  the  prevailing  character  of  the  South  Af- 
rican landscape  was  maintained  by  successive 
parallel  lines  of  stony  ridges,  looking,  as  they 
overhung  the  inhabited  plateau,  like  the  long 
24 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ranks  of  rollers  menacing  a  shore.  But  these 
long  rollers  of  earth  were  no  menace  in  them- 
selves. Frozen  in  their  tracks,  the  most  they 
could  do  was  to  conceal  what  perils  of  a  dif- 
ferent nature  lurked  behind  them.  After  all, 
they  might  be  dangerous. 

Just  before  dawn  the  nearest  of  these  crests 
was  topped  by  a  little  body  of  men,  who  im- 
mediately threw  themselves  to  the  ground, 
and,  lying  prone,  watched  with  cautious  inter- 
est^ the  unwonted  scene  before  them.  They 
carried  rifles,  and  were  slung  with  bandoliers. 
The  leader  busied  himself  for  a  few  moments 
with  paper  and  pencil,  as  if  taking  notes  for 
a  description  or  a  sketch  of  what  he  saw.  Sud- 
denly he  rose,  and  beckoned  to  one  of  the  men. 

"Joost,"  he  said,  "take  these  back  to  Veldt- 
cornet  Bodenstein  as  fast  as  you  can,  and  tell 
him  that  we  are  going  a  little  farther  down 
toward  the  village  while  it  is  still  dark  enough 
to  make  it  possible." 

"All  right,  Adjutant,"  said  the  man;  and, 
taking  the  papers,  he  slipped  over  the  brow 
of  the  randt,  and  was  gone. 
25 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Adjutant  Linde — for  it  was  Danie — took 
another  brief  survey  of  the  situation.  A  little 
to  the  left  and  three  hundred  yards  down  the 
slope  lay,  flanked  by  tall  hedges,  the  loosely 
grouped  buildings  of  the  farthest  outlying  farm. 
It  was  evident  that,  from  the  shelter  they  af- 
forded, a  more  complete  view  of  the  English 
camp,  now  partly  concealed  by  a  portion  of  the 
village,  could  be  had.  But  the  risk  of  expos- 
ure to  anything  like  sharp  eyes  while  moving 
down  the  hillside  was  great,  and  it  was  more 
than  possible  that  an  outpost  of  some  kind  was 
stationed  at  the  very  point  to  which  he  wished 
to  go.  He  decided  to  attempt  the  trip  alone. 
He  gave  his  men  a  few  parting  instructions, 
and,  leaving  his  rifle  and  bandolier  with  them, 
began  to  make  his  way  downward,  taking  cover 
behind  each  boulder  as  he  came  to  it,  and  lay- 
ing his  course  so  as  to  be  as  much  concealed 
as  possible  by  each  as  he  approached  it.  From 
the  last  rock  available  he  hurried  across  the 
open  into  the  shadow  of  a  hedgerow  that  led 
to  one  of  the  out-houses  he  sought.  Moving 
carefully  along  under  its  protecting  shelter, 
26 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  eyes  scanning  the  building  as  intently  as 
if  they  could  see  through  it,  he  soon  reached  the 
goal  he  aimed  for.  Standing  by  the  side  of 
the  barn,  he  looked  beyond  the  end  of  the  hedge 
that  had  concealed  what-  lay  on  its  other  flank, 
and  took  careful  note  of  that  part  of  the  camp 
now  exposed  to  his  view.  He  was  about  to 
skirt  the  building  for  a  further  inspection,  when 
he  was  arrested  by  the  sudden  sound  of  voices, 
just  around  the  corner,  and  apparently  not 
ten  yards  away  from  him. 
"The  start  of  surprise  he  gave  cost  him  the 
first  few  words.  Then  a  watch  snapped. 

"Four  o'clock,"  said  a  voice.  "I  must  go 
back  to  headquarters.  The  advance-guard 
starts  across  the  hills  to  the  north-east  at  five. 
Your  picket  will  be  withdrawn  hi  half  an  hour, 
Lieutenant." 

"Very  well,  Captain  Campbell,"  was  the 
reply.  "  Good-night. ' ' 

"Good-night."  And  the  sound  of  the  speak- 
er's departure  was  heard. 

Danie  hardly  dared  to  breathe.    Five  steps 
more,  and  he  would  have  walked  right  into 
27 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  hands  of  the  picket,  who,  he  could  not 
doubt,  would  have  received  him  with  as  much 
delight  as  surprise.  He  wondered  that  they 
could  not  hear  his  heart  beat.  If  any  one 
should  happen  to  come  around  the  corner  of 
the  barn!  At  the  thought  his  hand  stole  ner- 
vously to  his  revolver.  Then  it  came  to  him 
that  here  was  news  indeed,  and  that,  having 
gained  far  more  than  he  had  either  sought  or 
hoped  for,  he  must  get  back  at  once.  Dis- 
covery would  mean  not  only  captivity,  but  the 
annihilation  of  his  first,  almost  miraculous,  and 
perhaps  only  chance  to  distinguish  himself. 
He  turned,  and  fled  to  the  end  of  the  hedgerow 
without  another  instant's  delay.  Up  its  further 
side  he  stole, — the  side  he  had  carefully  avoided 
coming  down,  because  it  was  open  to  the  view 
of  a  great  part  of  the  sleeping  camp.  Yet  he 
judged  that  he  had  more  reason  to  fear  the 
nearer  danger  of  the  picket  he  had  discovered, 
and  in  comparison  with  that  peril  felt  that  the 
hedge,  though  serving  only  as  a  background, 
still  promised  him  protection.  He  had  indeed 
cause  to  be  thankful  for  his  choice.  He  had 
28 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

scarcely  taken  ten  steps  behind  the  hedge  when 
through  its  interstices  he  saw  a  soldier — evi- 
dently a  sentinel — come  around  the  corner  he 
had  just  deserted,  with  the  alert  ah*  that  marks 
suspicion.  The  man  looked  along  the  side  of 
the  building,  glanced  hurriedly  about  him,  and 
seemed  to  pierce  the  hedge  with  the  sharp  look 
he  cast  toward  it.  Danie  felt  it  an  all  too  in- 
secure screen  as  his  enemy  gazed  at  it;  nor 
could  he  understand  it  when  the  soldier  with- 
drew his  eyes,  and,  with  another  look  around, 
retreated  whence  he  had  come. 

"My  soul!"  thought  Danie  to  himself,  as 
he  rose  from  where  he  had  dropped,  "how 
could  he  miss  the  signs  of  that  trampled  grass? 
Any  Boer  would  have  seen  it  at  once." 

In  five  minutes  he  had  left  the  hedge  behind 
him  and  was  out  in  the  open,  working  his  way 
along  on  his  stomach  toward  the  first  of  the  line 
of  boulders  he  had  used  for  protection  on  his 
way  down.  Hugging  the  ground  with  a  close- 
ness not  entirely  due  to  the  patriotic  affection 
he  felt  for  his  country,  he  crawled  slowly  and 
with  frequent  halts  back  to  the  old  position 
29 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

on  the  height  whence  he  had  started  on  his 
little  journey  of  investigation. 

He  wrote  his  final  report,  embodying  the 
important  news  of  the  enemy's  projected  move- 
ment, amid  the  congratulations  of  his  enthusi- 
astic squad,  and  rushed  it  off  to  his  veldt- 
cornet  with  the  notification  that  he  would 
await  further  orders  where  he  was.  The  veldt- 
cornet  brought  these  orders  in  person,  accom- 
panied by  the  rest  of  the  command,  which  was 
at  once  posted  along  the  ridge. 

"Danie,"  said  his  senior,  "confess,  you  are 
a  lucky  man.  The  general,  acting  on  your 
information,  as  fortunate  as  it  is  undoubtedly 
valuable,  has  given  orders  to  commence  the  ac- 
tion as  soon  as  the  burghers  are  posted, — which, 
by  the  way,  they  should  be  now.  Our  bat- 
talion forms  the  extreme  right  of  the  line,  and — 
Listen!" 

His  exclamation  was  drowned  in  a  deep, 
double  roar  that  burst  from  behind  the  hill 
far  to  their  left,  and  which,  as  it  died  down, 
was  succeeded  by,  almost  merged  into,  the 
shrill,  sharp  scream  of  the  shells  from  the  two 
30 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Boer  Krupps  as  they  sped  on  their  impolite 
good-morning  errand  through  the  air  and  over 
the  startled  British  camp,  to  burst  far  beyond 
it  in  a  rattling  cloud  of  dust.  A  thrill  such 
as  he  had  never  felt  before  went  up  and  down 
Danie  Linde's  back  as  he  watched  the  instant 
transformation  of  the  strange  scene  before  him, 
with  the  echo  of  the  first  heavy  guns  he  had 
ever  heard  still  booming  in  his  ears.  The  camp, 
a  moment  before  a  quiet  and  peaceful  dormi- 
tojy,  almost  without  motion  except  for  the 
few  indolent  sentries  on  its  outskirts,  suddenly 
became  a  vast,  flat  hive  of  swarming  men, 
rushing  hither  and  thither  in  an  apparently 
aimless  confusion.  The  equally  active  out- 
pourings of  the  village  first  rimmed  it,  then 
joined  it,  and  almost  instantly  were  lost  in  it. 
The  faint  notes  of  twenty  different  bugles  added 
to  the  alarm.  But  the  stirring  sound  of  their 
ringing  was  cut  short  by  a  fresh  roar  from  the 
two  Krupps  behind  the  hill,  and  this  time  the 
shells  fell  exploding  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  uproar  their  predecessors  had  caused.  It 
seemed  impossible  that  such  teeming  disorder 
31 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

as  he  saw  before  him  could  ever  be  rectified 
under  the  circumstances;  and  Danie,  half 
stunned,  as  much  by  the  appalling  sight  as  by 
the  crash  of  the  guns,  was  greatly  astonished 
to  see  in  the  grey  morning  light  thin  lines  of 
men  already  forming  in  front  of  the  camp,  and 
other  groups  rapidly  organising  behind  them. 
Almost  at  once  a  series  of  short,  bright  flashes 
from  behind  a  hitherto  unnoticed  stone  wall — 
as  if  a  dozen  mirrors  had  suddenly  been  turned 
for  but  the  fraction  of  a  second  to  face  the  ris- 
ing sun — caught  his  eye,  and  before  he  had 
ceased  wondering  what  they  meant,  his  ears, 
assailed  by  the  light  crack  of  the  distant  ex- 
plosions, told  him  they  were  field-guns.  The 
enemy  had  finally  opened  on  him.  Another 
battery  opened  to  the  right,  and  then  still  an- 
other. The  thin  line  of  the  English  had  begun 
to  move;  and  he  was  so  absorbed  in  their  even 
approach,  the  shreds  they  left  behind  them  at 
every  step,  that  he  hardly  realised  for  a  mo- 
ment that  these  shreds  were  torn  from  the  line 
because  the  whole  Boer  force,  including  his  own 
men,  was  pouring  a  rattling  fire  into  the  ad- 
32 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

vancing  enemy.    The  veldt-cornet  was  shout- 
ing at  him  through  the  din. 

"Fire!  Fire,  man!  What  have  you  got  a 
rifle  for!  And  keep  the  men  at  this  end  of  the 
line  up  to  their  work.  I  am  going  to  the  left!" 

Danie  nodded.  He  could  not  speak,  but  a 
mist  seemed  to  clear  away  from  before  his  eyes, 
his  brain  began  to  work  with  the  activity 
and  decisiveness  of  machinery.  He  suddenly 
realised  that  for  ten  minutes  past  it  had  been 
almost  stupefied. 

""They  must  not  get  beyond  two  hundred 
yards!  They  must  not  get  beyond  two  hun- 
dred yards!"  he  murmured  repeatedly  to  him- 
self; and  then  turned  and  roared  it  at  the  men. 
He  watched  the  English  line,  and  estimated 
the  distance  carefully.  They  were  still  ad- 
vancing, but  with  short  rushes  now,  and  longer 
and  longer  halts  between,  during  which  they 
lay  flat  and  motionless.  He  could  see  their 
officers  leap  up  to  urge  them,  drive  them  on, 
as  they  came  nearer.  And  it  suddenly  struck 
him  with  conviction  that  they  would  never 
arrive,— this  time,  at  least. 
33 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Their  rests  should  be  shorter  and  shorter 
instead  of  increasing  in  length,"  he  decided 
for  himself.  He  was  learning  war.  He  men- 
tally made  a  note  of  this  for  use  on  some  pos- 
sible future  occasion,  and  then  turned  around 
and  calmly  announced  his  conclusion  to  his 
men. 

"Aim  low, — two  hundred  and  fifty  yards!" 
he  cried.  "Two  hundred  and  fifty  yards, — 
fifty  yards!"  His  sing-song  voice  reminded 
him  humorously  of  the  monotonic  drawl  of  the 
auctioneer.  But  he  hardly  stopped  to  see 
whether  or  not  his  advice  was  followed:  his 
eyes  rested  on  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecy. 
The  British  line  rose  once  more  to  rush  for- 
ward, wavered  for  a  fatal  moment,  and  broke 
in  disorder  instead. 

The  Boers  along  the  ridge  leaped  to  their 
feet  with  wild  shouts  of  joy  and  triumph. 
They  shook  their  rifles  in  the  air  like  madmen, 
screamed  hoarse  derision  at  the  retreating 
foe,  even  hurled  stones  after  them.  Danie,  with 
a  smile  on  his  face,  but  anger  in  his  eyes, 
ran  from  one  to  another  down  the  disintegrated 
34 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

line,  striking,  pulling,  pleading.  He  shouted 
orders  that  were  never  heard,  and  pointed 
frantically  outward  over  the  field  so  lately  oc- 
cupied by  the  menacing  attack.  The  five 
minutes  it  took  him  to  bring  his  command  into 
some  show  of  order  was  none  too  soon.  For 
advancing  to  a  fresh  assault  was  a  battalion 
of  lancers  in  open  order.  After  the  first  sec- 
ond of  surprise  on  the  part  of  the  over-enthusi- 
astic burghers,  they  opened  again  with  a  with- 
ering fire.  But  the  cavalry  was  being  sup- 
ported from  its  rear  and  flanks  by  the  com- 
bined and  now  destructive  fire  of  both  the  in- 
fantry that  had  been  driven  back  and  a  battery 
of  Armstrongs,  whose  shells  began  not  only 
to  disconcert,  but  to  decimate,  the  defenders 
of  the  ridge.  The  men  commenced  to  fall, — 
here  one,  there  two  or  three.  Danie's  work 
was  now  cut  out  for  him.  With  an  activity 
and  an  indifference  to  the  flying  steel  he  had 
not  dreamed  himself  capable  of,  he  flitted  up 
and  down — erect — behind  the  men,  empha- 
sising his  urgent  exhortations  by  a  frequent 
and  effective  use  of  his  own  weapon.  His 
35 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

eyes  were  everywhere  at  once.  He  drew  the 
wounded  to  what  safety  he  could  find  behind 
the  edge  of  the  ridge.  At  times  he  carelessly 
and  as  if  accidentally  pushed  or  pulled  the  dead 
to  where  they  yet  might  to  some  extent  serve 
the  living  as  additional  protection.  He  raved, 
he  praised,  he  prayed.  The  lancers  were  al- 
ready within  the  two-hundred-yard  limit  be- 
yond which  he  had  decided  he  could  allow  no 
attack  to  pass  with  safety  to  the  position  he 
held.  Yet  his  furious  efforts  were  temporarily 
successful.  Unable  to  stand  the  terrific  fire 
poured  upon  them  by  the  seemingly  inexhausti- 
ble Boer  rifles,  the  lancers  suddenly  broke  and 
turned,  two  streams  of  flight,  to  the  right  and 
left.  The  clouds  of  dust  their  movement  had 
raised  concealed  for  a  deceitful  minute  or  two 
everything  behind  the  extreme  limit  of  their 
approach.  Danie  dropped  his  hot  rifle  to  his 
left  hand,  and  wiped  the  thick  drops  of  sweat 
from  his  reeking  forehead  with  his  right,  while 
he  turned  to  view  the  havoc  wrought  in  his 
own  line.  One-half  the  men — a  frightful  per- 
centage— were  dead  or  wounded;  and  he  knew 
36 


...  "a  rifle  swung  high  above  his  head  ". . . 
(see  page  38) 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

that  he  could  not  long  hold  the  partly  demor- 
alised remainder  to  a  continuation  of  such 
bloody  work.  Already  some  were  beginning 
to  waver,  to  look  behind  them,  in  the  direction 
of  a  possible  escape. 

All  at  once  a  long,  deep  roar  burst  on  his 
half-deafened  ear.  In  front  of  him  the  cloud 
of  smoke  and  dust  was  lifting,  was  being  torn 
and  rent  in  a  hundred  places.  And  under 
its  edges,  through  the  constantly  multiplying 
gags  and  holes,  a  long  and  determined  line  of 
£haki-clad  infantry  was  pouring,  their  muffled 
shouts  rising  to  a  yell  that  seemed  to  shake 
the  very  skies  above.  At  last  the  English 
were  upon  him. 

How  many  of  his  men  deserted  him,  how 
many  stayed  beside  him  to  stick  it  out  to  the 
end,  he  never  knew.  He  caught  a  glimpse 
of  some  weapons  cast  to  the  ground,  of  some 
forms  turned  in  flight;  another  of  frantic  men 
beside  him  leaping  upon  stones  to  fire  madly 
or  to  swing  their  reversed  arms  against  the  up- 
sweeping mass, — and  then  he  was  shooting, 
clubbing,  stabbing,  in  the  very  midst  of  a 
37 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

shooting,  stabbing,  clubbing  crowd,  borne  ever 
and  ever  backward.  He  caught  a  fresh  glance 
of  a  pistol  pointed  at  his  heart,  the  red  face  and 
shoulder-straps  of  an  officer  close  to  him,  a 
rifle  swung  high  above  his  head, — and  then  the 
world  sank  beneath  his  feet,  the  sky  reeled 
above  him,  as  a  million  stars  burst  before  his 
face  and  were  swallowed  up  in  utter  darkness. 
His  last  conscious  thought  was  not  of  his  mother, 
not  of  his  betrothed,  not  of  his  country,  but 
only  that  he — he  whose  prospects  of  advance- 
ment and  glory  were  so  bright,  he  whose  career 
had  begun  so  fortunately — was  being  killed, 
was  killed,  in  the  first  battle  of  a  great  and 
glorious  war  of  which  he  alone  was  doomed 
never  to  see  the  end. 

Then  everything  faded  away;  and  he  sank, 
an  unconscious  mass,  inert  to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER    V. 


THE  little  town  of  Ladysmith  in  north- 
western Natal  was,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  African  summer  of  1899-1900,  fully  as  un- 
comfortable as  the  red,  unresting  dust  of  the 
surrounding  soil,  and  the  heat  radiated  from 
the  many  metal  house-tops  and  the  innumera- 
ble awnings  of  the  same  corrugated  zinc  and 
iron, — designed  to  shade,  but  better  fitted  to 
stifle, — could  make  it.  The  long  twin  streets 
stretched  side  by  side  from  end  to  end  of  the 
town,  set  with  one-story  stone  shops  in  close 
and  forward  rows  between  the  fewer  and  more 
retiring  dwelling-houses,  also  of  a  single  story, 
but  surrounded  by  wide  verandas  and  gardens 
red  and  yellow  with  the  blown  and  powdered 
earth. 

From  all  sides  of  the  dusty  plain  in  which 
Ladysmith  settles— a  bear  in  a  bear-pit,  at 
which  all  sorts  of  torments  can  be  thrown  from 
the  encompassing  walls,  as  the  Boers'  soon 
discovered — the  ground  sweeps  in  ever-rising 
formations  of  rock  and  rubble,  sometimes 
39 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

splotched  with  groups  of  trees,  to  the  convulsed 
and  threatening  hills  that  sweep  around  the 
plain  in  a  rough  but  majestic  circle  of  six  or 
more  miles  in  diameter.  And  like  a  piano- 
case  dropped  at  random  in  the  far  parterre  of 
this  strange  theatre  of  war  stands  Bulwana, 
the  muddy  little  Klip  running  at  full  speed 
around  an  angle  of  the  base  of  the  great  hill 
on  its  journey  to  the  Tugela,  ten  miles  away. 

The  battle  of  Dundee  was  followed  on  the 
part  of  the  English  by  a  rapid  retreat  to  Lady- 
smith,  where  the  authority  of  General  Yule, 
who  after  the  battle*  had  led  the  retreat,  was 
absorbed  into  that  of  Sir  George  White,  who 
commanded  at  Ladysmith. 

A  curious  series  of  errors  had  inaugurated 
the  campaign  in  Natal.  On  the  one  side  the 
Transvaalers  had  attacked  Dundee  with  an 
inferior  force,  without  waiting  for  their  allies 
from  the  Free  State,  under  the  then  Vice- 
Commandant  De  Wet.  After  the  battle  not 
only  the  English,  but  the  Boers,  retreated. 
Two  days  afterward— two  days  too  late — De 
Wet  with  his  Free  Staters  cut  the  railroad  line 
40 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

below  Dundee  to  find  the  back  trail  of  the  Eng- 
lish cold.  Then,  without  waiting  for  the 
Transvaal  forces  to  recover  from  the  effect 
of  the  fight  at  Dundee  and  join  him,  the  in- 
trepid De  Wet  followed  on  their  heels,  and  en- 
ticed them  out  of  Ladysmith  to  fight  at  Mod- 
der  Spruit, — a  fight  which  ended  practically 
without  result.  It  was  not  until  a  week  later 
that  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  South  Af- 
rican Republic,  at  a  joint  council  of  war  held 
November  1,  decided  to  lay  siege  to  Lady- 
smith.  On  that  very  night  Cronje  moved  to 
the  positions  afterwards  so  long  occupied  by 
Botha,  south  and  south-west  of  the  town;  and 
the  four  months'  siege  began. 

From  the  first  hour  the  fire  of  the  besiegers 
was  as  accurate  as  it  was  constant,  and  the  in- 
cessant shells  yelled  and  burst  monotonously 
night  and  day  hi  and  above  the  town  and  works. 
On  or  near  the  10th  of  November,  when  the 
Boer  guns  began  to  increase  from  the  sur- 
rounding hills,  General  White  made  arrange- 
ments with  General  Joubert  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  neutral  camp,  where  the  sick  and 
41 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

wounded,  the  prisoners  and  the  non-comba- 
tants, might  be  free  from  the  fire.  This  camp 
was  established  about  four  miles  from  the  town, 
on  a  flat  and  windy  plain  somewhat  to  the  south- 
east and  toward  the  direction  of  the  expected 
relief.  This  city  of  canvas — for  it  was  built 
of  nothing  else — lacked  many  of  the  comforts 
of  the  town  of  which  it  was  now  the  miserable 
suburb,  but  it  was  safe  and  healthy.  The 
great  fly-tents  of  the  hospital,  where  wounded 
Briton  and  wounded  Boer  lay  in  brotherly  dis- 
comfort, were  cool  and  quiet,  and  their  inmates 
fared  better  than  might  well  have  been  ex- 
pected. There  was  no  lack  of  nursing.  One 
of  the  annoyances — the  great  curse,  indeed — 
of  the  place  was  the  want  of  occupation  and 
amusement.  Even  the  Boer  fire  lost  its  in- 
terest for  the  inhabitants  as  soon  as  they  learned 
to  realise  that  it  had  nothing  more  to  do  with 
them.  So  the  women  nursed.  Those  that 
did  not  nurse  sought  the  opportunity,  toward 
the  last  importunately. 

In  one  of  the  beds  in  the  smallest  hospital 
tent  a  man  opened  his  eyes  one  bright  morn- 
42 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ing  toward  the  last  of  November.  He  did  not 
stir  otherwise,  and  even  his  lids  lifted  gently 
and  hesitatingly,  as  if  from  a  long  sleep  and 
with  a  recollection  of  evil  dreams  which  a  single 
physical  motion  on  his  part  might  bring  back 
with  a  leap  from  their  slow  and  unwilling  re- 
treat. For  minutes  the  white,  cool  canvas 
above  him  and  the  open  flap  through  which  he 
could  see  into  a  hazy,  green  country  were  but 
an  unstable  background  of  reality,  against 
wln'ch  only  very  gradually  decreased  the  ka- 
leidoscopic phantoms  of  a  long-unbridled  mind 
and  a  memory  just  struggling  up  from  stupe- 
faction. At  last  the  horrors  cleared  away, 
and  he  commenced  to  direct  his  thoughts. 
This  power  of  direction — so  simple  that  we 
never  realise  its  value  unless  under  similar 
circumstances  or  in  the  presence  of  the  insane — 
filled  him  with  a  weak  pride.  He  could  feel 
in  some  strange  way  that  it  was  new,  and  that 
it  was  well  worth  having.  His  identity,  how- 
ever, had  not  yet  come  into  his  consideration. 
He  was  satisfied  to  know  that  he  was  something, 
alive,  at  peace  with  the  present,  and  compe- 
43 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

tent  mentally  to  examine  and  pass  upon  the 
still  un-understood  circumstances  in  which  he 
found  himself.  He  went  at  it  slowly.  His  eyes 
soon  dropped  from  the  comprehended  covering 
of  canvas  to  the  top  of  the  opening  of  the  flaps, 
and  rested  on  a  baseless  wedge  of  unclouded 
blue,  across  which,  nevertheless,  there  seemed 
to  be  the  golden  spell  of  a  sun,  the  brightness 
of  days  he  had  known  and  now  instinctively 
recognised.  The  influence  was  soothing:  his 
hardly  awakened  mind  sunk  drowsily  back  into 
a  happy  apathy.  He  still  regarded  the  blue 
with  eyes  that  were  lazily  at  rest  rather  than 
set  or  fixed.  Suddenly  a  little  black  speck 
trailed  diagonally  up  across  the  bit  of  sky, 
and  hung  there  in  the  centre  of  his  vision. 
He  could  not  tell  whether  it  was  a  bird  far 
distant  or  a  gnat  at  hand.  It  was  just  a  speck, 
— there  was  no  background,  no  perspective. 
A  fly,  a  bird, — no! — it  had  disappeared,  and 
in  its  place  there  was  a  little  cloud,  a  puff  of 
wool,  a  tiny  fleece.  Curious!  It  roused  him 
more.  Then  there  was  a  distant  rush,  a  whistle 
that  he  knew,  yet  could  not  place,  and  a  sec- 
44 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ond  fly,  a  second  bit  of  cotton  joined  the  first, 
now  almost  dissipated.  Then  a  dull  shock,  that 
seemed  the  banging  of  a  door  far  off,  startled 
him;  and  then  another,  and  another,  and  an- 
other! A  great  revulsion  of  his  peace  of  mind 
nearly  upset  it  once  more.  With  a  quick  rush 
of  memory  the  blood  surged  to  his  head,  and 
nearly  blinded  him.  Where  was  he?  His 
heart  beat  furiously.  He  raised  his  head  and 
bent  his  back  in  the  effort  to  rise.  But  he  fell 
ba&k  with  a  weak  groan.  His  eyes  closed,  and 
his  ears — was  he  not  being  spoken  to?  He 
reopened  his  eyes  feebly,  but  his  astonish- 
ment put  new  strength  into  them.  Two  women 
stood  above  him,  bending  down, — two  strangers; 
and  a  man  stood  beside  the  bed, — he  was  in 
a  bed! — and  held  his  wrist.  He  wanted  to 
speak;  but  he  found  the  effort  difficult,  and 
desisted.  One  of  the  women  stooped  and 
raised  his  head,  and  the  man  placed  a  glass  to 
his  lips  and  tipped  the  contents  of  the  glass 
against  them.  They  opened  mechanically,  and 
he  swallowed. 

"More,"  he  whispered  in  Dutch. 
45 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  man  with  the  glass  looked  puzzled,  and, 
turning,  beckoned.  A  second  man,  with  a 
cheerful  smile  on  a  pale  face  and  crutches  be- 
neath his  arms,  hobbled  up  to  the  bedside. 
The  eyes  of  the  new-comer  asked  a  question. 
It  was  obvious. 

"More,"  whispered  Danie,  in  Dutch,  again. 

"He  wants  some  more,"  said  the  new  man, 
cheerfully.  "Better  give  him  some,  doctor, 
eh?  Incidentally,  I'm  feeling  rather  weak 
myself.  A  tot"— 

"No,  no,  Captain,"  laughed  the  other.  "No 
more  for  either  of  you.  Alcohol  isn't  the  best 
thing  for  open  wounds, — unless  they  are  like 
his,"  he  added  gravely,  turning  toward  the 
man  in  bed. 

Danie  found  his  voice  under  the  stimulus 
of  the  drink.  "Give  me  some  water,  please," 
he  said,  still  speaking  the  Taal;  then  in  Eng- 
lish, "Are  they  so  bad,  doctor?" 

"Eh?  Bad?  What  bad?"  said  the  aston- 
ished surgeon.  "What  business  have  you  got 
to  talk, — a  man  in  your  condition?  No!  No! 
There's  nothing  the  matter  with  you, — noth- 
46 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ing  to  speak  of.    What  nonsense!    Damned  if 
I  don't  think  you're  goin'  to  live!" 

"I  am,"  said  Danie,  quietly,  and  closed  his 
eyes. 

He  spoke  no  more  that  day,  and  toward 
evening  fell  into  a  healthy  sleep  that  lasted 
quite  through  the  night. 

The  next  morning,  when  he  awoke,  he  found 
the  cheerful  man  sitting  beside  him,  his  crutches 
under  his  chair.  Danie's  faint  smile  of  recog- 
nition was  returned  with  interest,  and  with  a 
nod  of  the  head  complicate  with  pleasant  mean- 
ings. Only  to  the  regular  surgeon  and  the 
nurses  did  this  jolly  visitor  finally  release  his 
silent  ward. 

On  the  last  day  of  a  week  spent  chiefly  in 
dozing  and  in  feebly  trying  to  disentangle 
dreams  from  recollections,  among  both  of  which 
the  cheerful  man's  face  figured  preponderantly, 
Danie  awoke  with  strength  to  break  his  silence. 

The  cheerful  man  was  in  his  place. 

"Good-morning,"  said  Danie,  smiling. 

"Good  morning,  indeed,"  returned  the  other, 
looking  closely  at  him.     "  How  do  you  feel  ?  " 
47 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Why, — rather  funny,  I  think,  but  still  not 
so  badly,"  said  Danie.  "I  should  feel  better 
if  I  knew  more  about  it.  Where  am  I?  Will 
you  tell  me?" 

"I'll  tell  you  all  about  it.  Of  course,  you 
want  to  know,"  said  the  other  heartily.  "My 
name  is  Campbell, — Captain  Campbell  of  the 
— th  Lancers, — and  you  and  I  first  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  at  Dundee.  This  is  Lady- 
smith, — or  a  camp  just  outside  it, — and  your 
people  have  got  Sir  George  White  and  thirteen 
thousand  more  of  us  shut  up  here.  Been  here 
ever  since  Dundee." 

Danie  was  startled.  "Since  Dundee?  And 
how  long  is  that?" 

"Six  weeks  to-morrow,  my  boy." 

"Good  Lord!"  said  the  Boer.  "What  do 
my  people  think?  Has  any  word  been  sent? 
Do  you  know?" 

"I'm  afraid  I  don't  know  much  about  it," 
said  Campbell,  deprecatingly.  "You  see,  I've 
been  in  hospital,  too,  ever  since  then,  and  am 
only  up  two  weeks  myself.  You  were  much 
the  worse  off,  however;  and  nobody  thought 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

you  would  live.  You  have  to  thank  your  con- 
stitution and  my  poor  shooting,  among  other 
things." 

"Yours?"  questioned  Danie,  wonderingly. 

"Mine  among  others,  Mr.  Linde.  But  I 
only  returned  you  a  favour.  It  was  you  who  so 
rudely  shot  me  through  the  legs  before  I  had 
ever  so  much  as  seen  you." 

"I  beg  your  pardon  for  the  damage,"  said 
Danie,  smiling;  "but  you  must  have  somehow 
got  jn  my  way.  I  didn't  see  you," 

The  Englishman  laughed.  "Never  mind," 
he  returned.  "  I'll  apologise,  too.  I  got  square 
with  you." 

"You  did,"  said  Danie,  ruefully.  "Tell 
me  some  more  details.  Why  am  I  here?" 

"To  get  well,  I  hope,  my  friend,"  said  Camp- 
bell. "We  were  brought  down  together  in 
the  same  ambulance  on  our  retreat  from  Dun- 
dee. Why  we  retreated,  I  don't  know.  No- 
body knows.  Your  people  retreated,  also, 
after  the  battle.  You  had  a  lance  through 
your  side,  two  or  three  bullet  wounds  of  less 
importance, — one  of  them  mine, — and  were 
49 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

knocked  on  the  head  with  the  butt  of  a  musket. 
Pretty  badly  off.  We've  been  here  under 
siege  from  your  people  ever  since.  Except 
that  the  hospital  is  in  the  neutral  camp,  a 
couple  of  miles  outside  the  town,  with  the 
women  and  children,  so  your  people  do  us  the 
honour  of  firing  over  us,  and  not  at  us." 

"How  goes  the  siege?"  asked  Danie,  eagerly. 

"I  don't  know — very  well.  We  only  have 
communication  with  the  town  once  a  day 
through  the  provision-train,  which  brings  us 
worse  and  less  stuff  every  morning;  and  we 
don't  get  much  news.  I  rather  think  there 
isn't  much,  you  know.  Of  course,  we  shall  be 
relieved  very  soon;  and  the  war  will  be  over 
before  winter  *  at  the  latest." 

Danie  thought  a  moment.  "How  did  you 
know  my  name?"  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  one  of  your  men  told  us  when  we  took 
your  position." 

Danie  brightened.  "Then  you  have  more 
of  us  unlucky  Boers  here  as  prisoners?  I  should 
like  to  see  them  if  I  may." 

•The  South  African  winter  begins  in  May. 
50 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Captain  Campbell  looked  out  of  the  tent 
into  the  fields.  His  voice  was  embarrassed 
as  he  answered.  "  I — I  am  afraid — there  were 
no  more  prisoners  taken.  Very  few  men  stayed 
with  you,  you  know.  I  think  you  were  brought 
along  because  you  were  an  officer,  and,  after 
things  were  quieter,  they  found  you  weren't 
dead,  you  know." 

"And  the  poor  wounded  were  left  on  the 
field?"  exclaimed  the  Boer,  in  horror. 

"JChey  were  left  on  the  field,"  repeated 
the  captain,  dryly.  "My  regiment  had  lost 
over  two  hundred  men.  It  was  their  first 
fight,  and  they  weren't  very  nice  about  it. 
And,  then,  you  fellows  tried  to  get  killed." 

"I  did,"  said  Danie,  gloomily.  "But  I'm 
very  glad  I  wasn't,"  he  added  with  a  smile. 

The  captain  rose,  and,  balancing  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  cot,  held  out  his  hand.  "So 
am  I,"  he  said  heartily.  "And  let's  drop  the 
subject  for  the  present.  We're  both  doin' 
splendidly;  and,  if  you'll  let  me  say  so,  we're 
not  such  devilish  enemies  as  we  were,  you  know, 
six  weeks  ago." 

51 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Danie  seized  his  hand  gratefully.  "We  are 
friends,  indeed,"  he  said.  "Don't  think  I 
don't  know,  at  least  for  the  last  week,  how  you 
have  sat  by  me,  and  watched  me,  and  given 
me  water  when  I  wanted  it,  and  all  things  like 
that.  I  couldn't  talk  then,  and  I  wasn't  in 
my  mind  all  the  time;  but  I  know.  I  won't 
forget  it.  We  may  meet  again,  possibly  under 
different  circumstances.  I  may  be  free  any 
day.  The  Boers  will  surely  be  able  to  take 
Ladysmith" — 

Captain  Campbell  sat  back  in  his  chair. 
"No,  Linde,"  he  answered,  "I'm  afraid  not. 
And,  anyway,  you  won't  be  here  to  see  it  if 
it  does  happen.  You  are  too  valuable  a  man 
to  give  back,"  with  a  smile,  "and  we  are  going 
to  send  you  to  Pietermaritzburg  while  we  can 
still  get  a  few  non-combatants  out  of  the  way. 
I  shall  be  able  to  walk  myself  in  a  few  days; 
and  I  am  going  back  into  Ladysmith,  so  that 
I  couldn't  look  after  you  any  more,  in  any  case. 
But  you  need  have  no  fear  but  that  you  will 
receive  the  best  treatment  at  'Maritzburg. 
And,"  he  hurried  on,  as  he  saw  Linde's  face 
52 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

fall,  "I  promise  you  that  I  will  try  and  get 
word  to  your  people  that  you  are  alive  and  all 
right." 

"If  you  will,"  said  Danie,  earnestly,  "you 
will  double  your  kindness  to  me;  for  my  father 
and  mother — and — and, — I  will  tell  you  frankly, 
my  friend,  there  is  somebody  else,  too, — will 
be  wild  about  me  if  there  is  no  news.  They 
must  think  me  dead  now." 

"Well,  we  shall  soon  correct  their  errone- 
ous4mpression/'  said  Campbell,  cheerily.  "  And, 
by  the  way,"  he  added,  "I  almost  forgot — 
isn't  this  yours?"  And  he  held  out  the  little 
bracelet  containing  Bettie's  miniature. 

"Yes,"  called  out  Danie,  "indeed,  yes!  I 
knew  I  missed  something,  but  I  was  too  sick 
to  think  what,  the  whole  past  week.  How 
did  you  get  it?  Please  give  it  to  me!" 

The  Englishman  leaned  over,  and  fastened 
it  again  upon  his  new  friend's  wrist.  "You 
are  in  luck  again,"  he  smiled.  "The  last  man 
who  shot  you — one  of  my  own — robbed  the 
'corpse/  and  afterwards  handed  me  the  booty, 
when  he  found  that  you  were  being  taken 
53 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

along  in  the  ambulance  with  me.  And  I  have 
kept  it  for  you  ever  since." 

Danie  thanked  him  again  as  if  for  his  life. 
Then,  partly  to  explain  the  seriousness  of  this 
second  gratitude,  he  opened  the  miniature, 
and  showed  it  to  its  preserver. 

The  Englishman  drew  a  breath.  "I  see/' 
he  said  slowly;  "and,  if  it  is  in  my  power,  I 
will  relieve  the  lady  of  what  anxiety  I  can 
on  your  account,  believe  me." 

"I  am  sure  that  you  will,"  replied  Danie; 
and  the  subject  was  dropped. 

The  next  four  days  passed  dully  enough. 
Captain  Campbell  was  absent;  and  Danie, 
tired,  but  stronger,  thankful  for  his  new  life 
and  strength,  but  irritated  at  the  remnants 
of  torture  that  still  racked  him  when  he  moved, 
proud  enough  of  the  past,  perhaps, — for  he 
was  young  and  in  love, — but  hopeless  as  to 
the  future,  could  think  of  no  explanation  for 
his  friend's — was  he  really  a  friend? — absence 
but  such  as  reflected  on  himself,  or  his  race, 
or  his  confidences.  On  the  morning  of  the 
fifth  day,  Campbell  entered  the  tent  in  uni- 
54 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

form  and  crutchless.  He  staggered  as  he 
walked,  but  he  stood  as  straight  and  broad  as 
one  of  his  discarded  supports. 

"It  is  good-bye,  old  chap,"  he  said  with  a 
friendly  grip  of  the  hand.  "To-day  I  go  back 
into  the  town,  and  to-morrow  you  start  for 
'Maritzburg.  We  shall  see  each  other  again, 
I  know.  Until  then  good  luck."  And  he 
turned  on  his  heel,  and  left  the  tent. 

And  poor  Danie  spent  the  rest  of  the  day 
wondering  why  he  had  not  been  able  to  find  his 
tongue. 

The  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock  he  was 
"  stretchered  "  on  to  an  ambulance  wagon  with 
plenty  of  company.  At  twelve  he  was  trans- 
ported to  a  train  at  Colenso, — escaping  by 
mere  hours  the  opportunity  of  being  recapt- 
ured by  his  victorious  friends  when  they 
clashed  with  Buller's  advance  there, — and  was 
passed  smoothly  on  without  interruption  to 
Pietermaritzburg,  a  hundred  miles  further 
south,  in  the  heart  of  the  loyal  Natal. 


55 


CHAPTER    VI. 


little  district  of  Ermelo  in  the  south- 
A  eastern  Transvaal  is  separated  from 
Natal  territory  by  a  narrow  strip — only  thirty 
miles  wide — of  the  district  of  Wakkerstroom. 
Natal,  reaching  greedily  north,  pushing  itself 
forcibly  right  into  the  body  of  the  Transvaal, 
cuts  a  pie-shaped  wedge  out  of  the  southern 
centre  of  Wakkerstroom,  causing  this  despoiled 
district's  borders,  at  the  point  of  section,  to 
serve  as  the  sides  of  a  deep  re-entrant  angle. 
This  cape,  this  promontory  of  Natal,  which 
juts  north  into  the  even  sea  of  what  was  for- 
merly the  Boer  Republic,  is  the  door  that  opens 
from  Natal  into  the  next  room  in  the  house  of 
Africa, — the  Transvaal;  for  its  very  tip  is  at 
the  point  of  the  fairest  pass  across  the  north- 
ern Drakensberg,  and  through  this  pass  and 
down  the  very  centre  of  the  promontory  runs 
the  railroad,  as  far  south  as  Pietermaritzburg, 
as  far  north  as  Pietersburg,  two  hundred  miles 
beyond  Pretoria.  This  door  is  one  that  swings 
both  ways:  it  opens  into  Natal  as  easily  as 
56 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

into  the  Transvaal.  A  dozen  miles  south  of 
the  pass  and  in  Natal  territory  are  two  local- 
ities known  by  the  names  of  Amajuba,  or 
Majuba  Hill,  and  Laing's  Nek.  They  won 
then-  notoriety  at  a  time  when  the  door  had 
been  opened  to  the  south. 

But  early  in  May,  1900,  the  door  opened 
the  other  way.  About  the  beginning  of  that 
month  the  English  troops  recovered  their  ac- 
tivity after  the  short  period  of  rest  in  which 
they  had  indulged  upon  the  closing  of  the 
campaign  on  the  Tugela  and  the  relief  of  Lady- 
smith,  and  began  to  drive  the  Boers,  disheart- 
ened by  the  surrenders  of  Cronje  and  Prinsloo 
and  the  death  of  Joubert,  out  of  the  Biggars- 
bergen  northward  into  the  Transvaal.  By 
May  31  Johannesburg  had  fallen  to  the  main 
column  of  the  enemy,  and  the  south-eastern 
districts,  including  Ermelo,  were  occupied  or 
being  traversed  by  active,  if  smaller,  bodies 
of  the  English,  invaders  in  their  turn.  Many 
of  the  original  commandos  that  had  so  suc- 
cessfully fought  in  Natal  during  the  earlier 
months  of  the  year  were  now,  depleted  in 
57 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

strength  and  in  gpirit,  conducting  a  desultory 
mountain  warfare  throughout  these  same  south- 
ern districts. 

Ermelo  was  as  badly  off  as  any.  Those  of 
its  burghers  who  still  considered  themselves 
subject  to  their  old  organisations  had  been 
called  north  to  Pretoria  by  General  Botha, 
who  had  hoped  to  make  some  sort  of  a  defence 
of  the  town.  Those  who  had  remained  in 
the  district  with  the  purpose  of  defending  their 
homes  were  hardly  able  to  do  more  than  to 
annoy  the  enemy,  and  sometimes  to  retard 
his  advance.  The  homesteads  and  farms 
throughout  the  country-side  were  for  the  most 
part  manless,  or  only  received  their  masters 
at  odd  times  or  when  the  British  columns 
were  still  far  away.  Blaauwkop  was  in 
straits.  Its  owner  and  his  three  grown  sons 
had  been  absent,  except  for  one  brief  visit, 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war;  and  the  whole 
management  of  the  place  had  fallen  on  the 
shoulders  of  Bettie  and  her  mother.  The 
Kaffir  servants  had  grown  more  and  more  slack 
as  time  progressed  and  no  men  returned  to 
58 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

look  after  them.  Several  had  taken  French 
leave.  Most  of  those  that  remained  on  the 
farm  had  assumed  the  habit  of  disappearing 
from  time  to  time  for  a  day  or  two,  or  even 
for  longer  periods,  and  of  coming  back  heavy 
with  the  beer  of  some  native  village,  a  little 
more  sullen,  a  little  more  insolent,  than  before. 
Old  Maliwe  was  an  exception.  His  Hot- 
tentot mother  had  died  grey  in  the  service  of 
Bettie's  grandfather.  He  himself  had  been 
born  in  the  family,  and  considered  himself  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  one  of  them.  As 
far  as  he  could,  by  the  power  of  delegated  au- 
thority, backed  up  by  the  known  fact  that  he 
always  went  armed  at  the  wish  of  Mrs.  Uys, 
he  ran  things  over  the  other  servants  with  a 
high  hand.  It  was  he  who  slept  first  in  the 
cattle-kraal,  and  later,  when  worse  dangers 
threatened,  in  the  front  hall-way  of  the  dwell- 
ing-house itself.  It  was  he  who  went  to  the 
fields  with  the  two  women  in  the  day-time, 
and,  while  apparently  working  as  hard,  if  not 
harder  than  the  rest  of  the  servants,  managed 
always  to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  his  mistress 
59 


UNDER    THE    VlERKLEUR 

and  her  daughter.  It  was  he  who  ran,  for 
all  his  sixty  years,  beside  Bettie's  horse  when 
she  went  out  into  the  veldt  late  afternoons 
to  gather  the  scattered  groups  of  ewes  and 
lambs  for  the  night.  Many  a  setting  sun  saw 
Bettie  and  her  two  little  brothers,  Gertand 
Egbert,  riding  homeward,  each  with  a  lost  and 
complaining  lamb  slung  across  the  saddle  to 
return  to  its  careless  mother,  and  the  old  Kaffir 
trotting  tirelessly  behind  the  horses,  some- 
times with  a  fourth  little  one  across  his  own 
thin  shoulder. 

The  little  family  had  few  visitors,  and  went 
on  even  fewer  visits.  Their  nearest  neighbours 
were  six  to  eight  miles  away,  and  the  little 
village  of  Ermelo,  the  "shire  town"  of  the 
district,  lay  still  further  from  them,  and  held 
not  even  the  attraction  of  news;  for  the  single 
wire  to  Standerton  and  the  railroad  south  of 
them  had  long  been  cut.  Once  in  a  while 
a  stray  burgher,  ragged,  disheartened,  and  dis- 
heartening, dropped  in  upon  them.  When 
such  a  man  came,  he  was  given  food  and  drink 
and  all  the  comforts  of  the  house,  as  if  he  were 
60 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  commandant-general  himself;  and  then 
the  women  hung  around  him  with  questions. 
Mrs.  Uys's  first  demand  was  always,  "Have 
you  seen  or  heard  of  my  husband  or  my  sons?" 
and  Bettie's,  "Can  you  tell  me  anything  about 
Danie  Linde?"  But  they  never  got  in  reply 
to  these  questions  more  than  a  shake  of  the 
head  and  a  recital  at  length  of  the  woes  partly 
of  their  country,  chiefly  of  their  guest.  It 
was  very  unsatisfactory.  At  times  Bettie 
*~went  so  far  as  to  blame  Danie  for  not  letting 
her  know  of  his  existence.  A  man  ought  to 
be  able  to  do  that  much  once  in  nine  months, 
if  he  really  loved  a  girl.  She  would  carry  this 
unhappy  thought  in  her  mind  perhaps  a  whole 
afternoon.  The  next  morning  she  would  wake 
with  a  heavy  sense  of  guilt,  of  cruelty,  of  un- 
faithfulness, and  by  noon  she  would  have  con- 
vinced herself  that  her  lover  was  dead.  The 
strain  upon  her  nervous  system  grew.  Nat- 
urally a  very  reticent  girl,  she  ended  by  mak- 
ing her  mother  the  confidante  of  these  two  ex- 
treme moods  when  in  succession  they  seized 
her;  and  that  poor  woman,  although  she  really 
61 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

thought  the  last  supposition  the  more  reason- 
able, nevertheless,  being  between  the  devil 
and  the  deep  sea,  invariably  proclaimed  her 
belief  in  the  former.  Bettie,  with  her  changed 
disposition,  was  better  off  in  a  state  of  cyni- 
cism than  in  one  of  despair.  It  was  the  poor 
girl's  first  experience  of  any  of  the  great  emo- 
tions; and  she  was  now  experiencing  them  all 
at  the  same  time, — love  and  grief,  and  jeal- 
ousy and  fear.  They  usually  follow  each  other 
and  in  a  somewhat  different  and  more  logical 
order. 

In  the  early  part  of  their  solitary  isolation 
at  Blaauwkop,  Bettie  and  her  mother  had 
made  a  point  of  having  as  cheerful  evenings 
as  possible  on  the  farm,  for  their  own  sakes 
as  much  as  for  those  of  the  children.  But, 
without  Mrs.  Uys  being  able  to  control  it,  this 
custom  had  drifted  into  desuetude  through 
Bettie's  growing  inability  to  contribute  any 
gayety  or  lightness  of  her  own  to  such  evenings. 
Where  she  had  at  first  enjoyed  playing  the 
piano  and  singing,  especially  the  few  songs 
that  she  remembered  to  be  favourites  of  her 
62 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

lover,  now  she  left  the  instrument  untouched, 
and  never  even  sang  about  the  house  as  she 
had  done  all  her  young  and  happy  life.  Her 
mother  made  but  one  attempt  to  persuade 
her,  after  several  evenings  had  passed  without 
her  accustomed  music.  The  result  was  such 
a  storm  of  grief,  lasting  long  into  the  night, 
that  she  at  once  forbade  her  younger  children 
to  mention  playing  to  their  sister  again. 
^.The  girl  was  no  moper:  she  hung  in  no  dark 
corners,  she  shirked  none  of  the  commonplace 
duties.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  her  pride  by 
her  own  exertions  as  much  as  possible  to  keep 
the  farm  and  the  crops  up  to  or  near  the  stand- 
ard of  her  father's  time,  before  the  war.  She 
was  physically  healthy,  she  was  strong,  and  the 
red  blood  in  her  firm  little  cheeks  withstood 
victoriously  even  the  efforts  of  the  sun  to  con- 
ceal her  blushes  by  the  coat  of  brown  it  endued 
them  with.  She  was  in  the  saddle  a  large 
part  of  every  day.  Her  lithe  body  grew  even 
more  straight,  her  dark  eyes  even  more  clear 
and  deep,  her  black  hair  even  more  glossy  and 
luxuriant,  her  muscles,  her  wrists  even  more 
63 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

supple  and  rounded.  But  her  heart  weighed 
within  her  day  and  night;  and  her  mother, 
although  a  woman  of  little  perspicacity,  as 
of  few  resources,  could  see  plainly  how  her 
nature,  even  her  mind,  was  wearing  under 
the  strain.  The  elder  woman  understood  at 
last  that  a  change — either  good  or  bad,  but 
a  change  of  some  sort — was  the  one  thing  that 
would  help  Bettie  above  all  else.  And  from 
thinking  of  some  change  and  of  the  hundred 
ways  in  which  it  might  announce  itself,  and 
even  hoping  for  it,  she  finally  got  to  expecting 
it,  even  to  believing  in  it.  Consequently,  she 
was  calm  and  unastonished,  almost  relieved, 
when  one  early  June  evening  old  Maliwe,  com- 
ing from  the  cattle-kraal,  called  from  the  stoep 
into  the  house:  "Old  mistress,  come  quick! 
There  are  two  suns  setting!" 

"Ah!"  she  said,  "now  it  has  come."  And 
she  went  out  to  the  Kaffir  on  the  stoep.  He 
was  pointing  to  the  north-east,  hi  the  direction 
of  the  town  of  Ennelo. 

It  was  already  dark  with  the  quick  darkness 
of  African  nightfall.  She  turned  around. 
64 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Behind  her  was  actually  the  sunset,  a  deep 
red  glow  whose  brightness  was  even  then  vis- 
ibly fading.  But  Maliwe's  second  sunset,  the 
one  in  the  east,  was,  on  the  contrary,  growing 
as  visibly  brighter.  She  called  Bettie  and 
the  children. 

"Maliwe,"  she  said,  "that  is  fire  at  Ermelo. 
The  khakis  are  there." 

"  Ma  wo ! "  answered  Maliwe.  "  You  are  right, 
mistress.  It  is  fire,  sure  enough.  I  thought 
the  sun  had  broken  in  half  and  one  piece  had 
been  left  behind,  or  Tmpandulu  [the  lightening] 
had  upset  its  nest.  But  you  are  right :  it  is 
fire.  The  khakis  are  there.  May  they  not 
come  here!" 

"They  will  come,"  said  Mrs.  Uys,  pointing 
out  into  the  gloom  toward  the  gardens,  "as 
those  are  going.  Look!" 

"Ewe,  ewe,"  said  old  Maliwe,  "they  are 
going,  certainly.  Let  them  go,  the  dogs.  We 
are  safer  without  them.  Yet  I  will  watch  to- 
night." 

Down  by  the  kraals,  so  barely  visible  that 
the  very  sound  of  then*  murmurs  of  surprise 
65 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  excitement  helped  the  group  at  the  house 
to  pick  them  out,  were  gathered  the  other  black 
servants;  and,  from  the  dim  mass  that  dis- 
tinguished them  in  the  darkness,  single  figures 
could  just  be  seen  flitting  away  into  the  night, 
noiseless  and  in  even  succession,  as  bats  slip 
forth  from  the  eaves  at  dusk  to  disappear  one 
after  another. 

There  was  little  sleep  at  Blaauwkop  that 
night.  The  morning  dawned  bright  and  clear. 
No  smoke,  no  trace  of  fire,  showed  to  the  east; 
and  toward  noon  Mrs.  Uys  spoke  to  Maliwe, 
who  was  hanging  around  the  house,  contrary 
to  his  usual  custom. 

"I  was  frightened  for  nothing,  Maliwe.  It 
was  just  a  fire  in  the  bush,  and  not  the  khakis, 
after  all." 

Old  Maliwe  shook  his  head  slowly.  "No, 
no,  mistress,"  he  said.  "You  were  right 
enough.  The  'boys'  would  have  been  back 
before  daylight  unless  something  strange  had 
happened.  It  is  the  khakis  without  a  doubt. 
There  is  not  a  Kaffir  on  the  whole  farm."  He 
excepted  himself,  as  always,  by  reason  of  his 
66 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

association  with  the  household.     Was  he  not 
a  member  of  the  family? 

In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  Gertie  and 
Egbert,  who  had  been  playing  out  beyond  the 
kraals,  came  running  to  the  house  in  great 
excitement. 

"Mamma,  mamma,"  called  Gert,  "there  are 
horsemen  coming  fast  up  the  road!  I  am  sure 
they  are  khakis!" 

She  was  at  the  door  in  an  instant.    The  boy 
.-"tried  to  rush  past  her.     "I  will  get  my  gun," 
he  cried.    "  They  shall  not  touch  you  or  zus' 
Bettie!" 

"Gert,  come  here!"  she  cried  at  him  with 
the  fierceness  of  fear.  "My  God,  leave  your 
gun  alone!"  She  clasped  him  to  her  bosom 
with  straining  arms,  as  if  with  some  dark 
presentiment  of  evil,  and  faced  the  horsemen 
who  even  then  drew  up  before  the  stoep. 

An  officer  rode  a  step  forward,  and  lazily 
raised  his  hand  as  high  as  his  shoulder  in  a 
half-salute.  "  Mrs.  Uys  ?  "  he  asked. 

She  turned  her  head  over  little  Gert's,  and 
called  into  the  house,  in  Dutch : — 
67 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Come,  Bettie,  come  and  tell  me  what  they 
say.  They  are  talking  to  me." 

Bettie  came  running.  As  she  stood  in  the 
doorway  behind  her  mother,  and  looked  at 
hun,  her  eyes  wide  with  apprehension,  the 
Englishman  straightened  in  his  saddle  and 
completed  his  salute. 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Uys?"  he  asked  again  of  the 
girl. 

"Yes,  sir,"  she  answered,  "my  mother." 

"I  have  a  very  hard  task  before  me,"  he 
continued,  looking  fixedly  at  her.  "But  I 
have  my  orders,  and  must  obey  them.  I  was 
sent  here  to  burn  your  house  and  buildings." 

Bettie  turned  white.  "Why?"  she  asked, 
trembling.  "We  are  nothing  but  women  and 
children  here.  What  have  we  done?  What 
shall  we  do?" 

"Bettie!"  cried  her  mother,  frightened  at 
her  expression.  "What  is  it?  Tell  me  what 
he  is  saying." 

"I  am  very  sorry,"  continued  the  English- 
man, "  but  I  have  my  orders.    But  I  will  leave 
one  of  the  buildings  standing  for  you." 
68 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Oh,  he  is  going  to  burn  our  house,  our 
home  down,  mamma!"  said  Bettie,  hurriedly. 
"But  why?"  she  cried,  turning  again  to  the 
sudden  persecutor.  "What  have  we  done 
to  deserve  this?  Do  you  English  fight  women 
and  children,  like  cowards?"  she  demanded 
bitterly. 

The  officer  flushed,  and  took  a  paper  from  his 
belt.  "You  are  accused  of  having  harboured 
the  Boer  Commandant  Uys,  for  one  thing," 
lie  answered;  "and  I  have  already  told  you  I 
am  not  here  for  my  own  pleasure.  I  am  under 
orders." 

"Harboured  Commandant  Uys!"  repeated 
Bettie,  breathlessly.  "He  is  my  own  father! 
Why,  this  is  his  own  home!  Where  else 
should  he  go  or  stay?  He  has  not  been  here 
for  three  months,  nevertheless." 

She  turned  rapidly  to  her  mother,  and  told 
her  what  had  been  said,  what  the  accusation 
against  them  was.  Mrs.  Uys  drew  herself 
up,  letting  Gert  slip  to  the  floor. 

"Do  they  mean  it  actually,  Bettie?    I  can- 
not believe  it!"  she  said. 
69 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Mean  it?  Indeed,  they  do!  That  is  what 
the  dogs  are  here  for! "  cried  Bettie,  furiously. 
"He  has  our  crimes  written  on  that  paper!" 

"Very  well,"  answered  her  mother,  slowly 
and  coldly,  "tell  the  Englishman  from  me 
that,  if  his  general  thinks  to  prevent  me  from 
taking  in  and  sheltering  my  husband  in  my, 
in  our  own  house,  he  will  have  to  burn  it.  He 
is  right  about  that.  For  I  should  do  it  a  thou- 
sand times  more  if  the  dear  Lord  please  to 
spare  him.  Tell  him  that  just  as  I  say  it. 
And  tell  him  that  we  will  go  away  as  prison- 
ers or  as  homeless  wanderers  into  the  veldt, 
but  we  do  not  do  it  of  our  own  free  will.  He 
must  take  us  or  drive  us!" 

With  quivering  lips  but  with  flashing  eyes, 
Bettie  delivered  her  mother's  speech  in  Eng- 
lish; and  she  added  something  on  her  own 
account. 

The  Englishman  flushed  again,  and  was 
silent  for  a  moment.  Then  he  looked  at  Bet- 
tie  once  more. 

"I  will  do  just  one  thing  for  you:  that  is 
all  I  can  do.  You  may  have  twenty-four 
70 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

hours  to  get  together  what  you  may  need  or 
wish  to  save  in  one  of  your  own  wagons.  To- 
morrow I  shall  be  compelled  to  obey  my  orders, 
destroy  the  place  and  take  you  to  Ermelo  to 
be  sent  on  to  the  concentration  camp  at  Volks- 
rust.  Good-night.''  And  he  turned  and  rode 
away,  followed  by  the  squad  he  had  brought 
on  his  heartless  errand. 

Bettie  broke  into  great  sobs,  and  fell  on  her 
^knees  on  the  threshold,  her  face  against  her 
mother's  knees.  Mrs.  Uys  was  astonished  at 
the  abrupt  departure  of  those  who  had,  the  min- 
ute before,  threatened  to  burn  her  home  under 
her  very  eyes.  She  was  relieved. 

"  Don't  weep,  dear  Bettie.  There  is  no  need. 
You  are  too  nervous.  You  see  it  was  all  a 
joke.  I  knew  well  that  even  Englishmen 
couldn't  do  so  cruel  a  thing  as  that  would  be." 

Bettie  lifted  a  white  face.  "Oh,  God,"  she 
cried,  "it  is  much  worse  than  you  think,  dear 
mamma.  It  is  no  joke,  but  deadliest  earnest. 
He  but  gives  to-night  to  pack  a  few  things, — 
a  last  night  in  our  dear  home.  Oh,  what  will 
poor  father  say  or  think  when  he  comes  back 
71 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  next  time?"  And  she  burst  into  a  fresh 
paroxysm  of  tears. 

Her  mother,  startled,  tried  to  raise  her. 

"What  do  you  mean,  Bettie, — what  do  you 
mean?  Tell  me  at  once!" 

Little  Gert,  who  had  listened  to  as  much 
as  he  could  understand  in  a  horrified  silence, 
commenced  to  choke  deeply  at  the  thought 
of  his  father's  home-coming  as  his  sister  pict- 
ured it.  Bettie  began  to  control  herself.  She 
managed  to  tell  her  mother  what  fate  hung 
over  them,  what  was  to  befall  on  the  morrow. 

Mrs.  Uys  listened  quietly  to  the  end.  Then 
she  shook  Gertie,  and  spoke  to  him  sharply. 
"Gertie!  Gert!  Stop  crying,  and  go  and 
find  your  brother  and  Maliwe.  At  once!  We 
have  not  a  moment  to  lose!" 

The  boy  stopped  his  tears,  and  went  back 
into  the  house,  the  man  of  the  family  again. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  mamma?" 
asked  Bettie. 

"Do?  I  am  not  going  to  let  that  cursed 
Englishman  burn  our  home  and  take  us  to 
the  concentration  camp!  We  should  all  die 
72 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

there  in  a  month,  if  only  of  their  dreadful  food. 
We  are  going  to  leave  now,  as  soon  as  Gert 
and  Maliwe  can  inspan  a  team  of  oxen.  By 
morning  we  shall  be  far  in  the  mountains  where 
they  cannot  find  us.  We  will  take  our  stock. 
And  the  place  will  be  gone!  /  will  set  fire  to 
it  myself,  and  the  good  God  and  your  father 
will  forgive  me.  At  least  the  English  shall 
not  have  the  wicked  pleasure  of  destroying 
J<he  property  and  homes  of  helpless  women. 
Whatever  we  lose,  daughter,  our  heavenly 
Father  will  be  with  us  still.  We  will  trust 
in  Him.  Maliwe,"  she  continued,  as  the  old 
Kaffir  came  before  her,  "inspan  the  oxen. 
We  are  going  to  trek  as  we  did  forty  years 
ago.  Take  what  stock  you  can,  and  a  couple 
of  horses.  Be  quick!" 

The  sun  had  not  swung  west  an  hour  before 
the  unhappy  women  had  made  their  bitter 
choice  from  out  of  all  they  loved,  before  it 
was  stowed  (with  how  many  tears!)  in  the  great 
canvas-covered  wagon  brought  forth  after 
years  of  solemn  reminiscence  in  the  barn  to 
resume,  in  behalf  of  a  new  generation,  its  an- 
73 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

cient  occupation  of  fleeing  before  the  oppres- 
sor. The  wagon  waited  beyond  the  garden 
hedge,  Gert  holding  three  horses,  his  mother's, 
his  sister's,  one  for  himself.  His  brother  was 
already  half  a  mile  on  his  way  toward  the 
haven  of  the  hills,  driving  the  selected  stock 
slowly  before  him.  The  two  women  stood 
with  streaming  eyes  in  front  of  the  stoep  of 
their  beloved  Blaauwkop,  neither  of  them  sure 
of  the  entire  purpose  that  held  her  there. 

"Mamma,"  said  Bettie,  timidly,  "don't  do 
it  yourself,  don't  burn  our  home.  I  can't 
bear  it!  Besides,  if  the  English  see  the  smoke, 
they  will  certainly  come  and  catch  us." 

"No,  Bettie,  do  not  grieve.  I  cannot  do  it. 
I  will  leave  that  great  crime  to  them.  I  com- 
mitted a  sin  when  I  even  said  I  would  do  so. 
But  God,  remembering  the  provocation,  will 
forgive  me.  Perhaps  even, — who  knows" — 

Maliwe,  who  stood  behind  them  waiting,  in- 
terrupted her.  "Here  come  those  who  will 
do  it  for  you,  mistress.  Come,  get  into  the 
wagon.  They  are  already  beyond  the  taai- 
bosch,  and  they  come  running  like  an  impi." 
74 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

They  turned.  At  the  same  moment  Gert 
began  to  call  a  warning  to  them.  Down  the 
Ermelo  road  and  over  the  slope  came  a  hooting, 
singing,  rolling,  rushing  crowd  of  Kaffirs,  on 
foot  and  on  horseback,  their  shouts  and  yells 
announcing  as  clearly  their  temper  as  their 
presence.  As  they  reached  the  circle  of  kraals 
and  buildings  that  constituted  Blaauwkop, 
and  commenced  to  spread  fanlike  in  every 
direction  where  loot  promised,  the  women 
reached  their  horses,  and  Gert  and  Maliwe 
helped  them  into  their  saddles.  To  think  of 
controlling  that  noisy  and  inflamed  mob  of 
blacks  was  insanity;  yet  Gert  had  to  seize  the 
bridle  from  his  mother's  hand  and  pull  her 
horse  about  before  she  sacrificed  habit  to  sense 
and  was  willing  to  let  them  alone.  Once  headed 
in  the  right  direction,  a  few  wild  slashes  from 
his  sjambok  urged  the  horses  of  his  mother  and 
sister  to  furious  speed.  But  the  boy  himself, 
upon  looking  around,  wheeled,  and  rode  back 
to  help  the  faithful  Maliwe  with  the  slow  oxen. 

As  he  reached  the  wagon,  smoke  was  pour- 
ing from  the  windows  of  the  dwelling-house, 
75 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  some  of  the  out-houses  were  already  in 
flames.  Clouds  and  snow-storms  of  feathers 
from  the  ripped  and  torn  feather  beds  were 
whirling  in  the  heated  ah-  above  the  buildings, 
and  drifting  south-east  on  the  afternoon  breeze. 
Frantic  dancers,  arrayed  in  women's  clothes, 
in  sheets,  in  table-cloths,  in  anything  bright 
and  bizarre,  reeled  in  circles  and  leaped  like 
shuttles  about  the  fires.  Half  a  dozen  Kaffirs 
ran  up  to  the  wagon,  and  surrounded  Gert. 

"Ho,  little  baas,"  cried  a  drunken  fellow 
whom  he  recognised  as  one  of  his  father's  old 
servants,  "you  have  been  good  enough  to 
bring  me  back  a  horse.  Get  off!"  And  he 
lifted  him  down,  gently  enough  and  with  laugh- 
ter, despite  Gert's  angry  struggles  and  blows. 
But,  before  the  thief  could  mount,  a  tall  Kaffir 
in  a  policeman's  uniform,  whose  little  eyes, 
crimson  with  drink,  blinked  from  a  brutally 
swollen  face,  hurled  him  to  one  side  and  mounted 
the  stolen  horse  himself. 

"Stand  aside,  dog!"  he  howled.     "I  am  a 
servant  of  the  Queen.    I,  Jim  Kondwana,  am 
an  Induna!    Shall  I  walk,  and  thou  ride?" 
76 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Gert  was  white  with  rage.  The  boy  sprang 
to  the  pony's  head,  and  seized  the  bridle  close 
to  the  bit. 

"Jou  verdomde  parmantig  schepsel"  (You 
infernal,  insolent  scoundrel),  he  cried,  "get 
off  that  horse !  It  is  my  horse ! " 

The  little  beast,  worried  at  the  strange  and 
uncertain  rider,  and  frightened  by  so  much 
excitement  directly  under  his  nose,  reared, 
and  nearly  threw  backward.  As  his  fore  feet 
came  back  to  earth  and  let  Gert,  who  had 
hung  fast  to  the  bridle,  down  again,  the  in- 
furiated Kaffir  raised  his  kerrie,  and  brought 
it  savagely  down  on  the  boy's  head.  Gert 
fell  to  the  ground  as  if  struck  by  lightning. 
His  skull  was  crushed  like  an  egg-shell. 

Maliwe's  cry  of  horror  and  fright  was  echoed, 
strangely  enough,  by  some  of  the  other  Kaffirs 
who  stood  about.  The  murderer  himself  looked 
down  at  his  victim  with  the  anger  lost  out  of 
his  face.  Then  he  wheeled  his  foully  won  steed 
toward  the  burning  house,  the  other  wretches 
following,  and  Maliwe  was  left  alone  with  the 
corpse. 

77 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  poor  mother  and  sister,  who  had  seen 
the  tragedy  from  the  point  where  they  at  last 
got  their  horses  under  control,  galloped  fran- 
tically back  to  meet  the  advancing  and  weep- 
ing Maliwe,  who  had  laid  the  little  body  in  the 
wagon. 

What  was  or  could  have  been  home  to  them 
now? 

They  passed  across  the  wide,  the  rolling 
plains  toward  the  mountains,  and  evening 
swallowed  them  up, — them  and  their  new 
grief. 

But  a  half-hour  after  they  had  passed  out 
of  sight,  a  drunken  Kaffir  in  a  constable's  uni- 
form took  a  forgotten  letter  from  his  pocket, 
and  waved  it  uncertainly  in  the  ah-. 

"  Baas  Uys,— Uys,— that  was  it,— Miss  Bettie 
Uys,  at  Blaauwkop, — well,  that  is  right.  The 
English  captain  told  me  to  leave  it  at  the 
house.  I  do  so,  and  I  will  tell  him."  And 
he  deposited  the  paper  in  the  glowing  embers 
at  his  feet. 


78 


CHAPTER    VII. 


ALTHOUGH  Pietermaritzburg,  the  capi- 
tal of  Natal,  was  never  at  any  time 
within  the  zone  of  hostilities,  it  was  guarded 
and  garrisoned  for  the  first  year  of  the  war 
as  if  it  were  at  any  time  subject  to  attack. 
And,  indeed,  for  the  first  six  months  no  one 
could  be  sure  that  it  was  not.  The  Boers  op- 
erated all  over  northern  Natal  until  May; 
and  the  capital  was  but  a  scant  fifty  miles 
from  the  seacoast  and  from  the  all-important 
port  of  Durban,  so  long  the  aim  and  harbour 
of  innumerable  British  troop-ships. 

The  jail-hospital  and  a  large  adjoining  ware- 
house had  been  fitted  up  for  the  reception  of 
the  wounded  Boer  prisoners.  These  build- 
ings, connected  and  surrounded  by  high  stone 
walls,  fronted  on  the  main  street  of  the  town; 
but  the  entrances  on  this  street  were  small, 
guarded  by  single  sentries,  and  used  chiefly 
for  visitors.  At  the  rear  of  the  buildings  was 
a  large  yard,  or  recreation  ground,  surrounded 
by  ten-foot,  smooth  stone  walls,  topped  with 
79 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

broken  glass,  through  which  a  single  wide 
entrance  had  been  cut,  and  closed  by  great 
iron  gates  swung  on  giant  hinges.  Through 
these  gates  the  prisoners  and  wounded  were 
marched  or  driven  hi  ambulance  wagons  to 
then*  long — sometimes  to  their  last — home. 

The  convalescent  prisoners  and  those  whose 
less  serious  wounds  permitted  were  allowed 
to  exercise  in  this  yard  twice  a  day,  an  hour 
in  the  morning  and  an  hour  in  the  afternoon. 
Those  who  had  special  permission  were  also 
allowed  to  receive  visitors,  under  guard,  in 
the  reception-room  of  the  hospital.  The  sun 
alone  was  under  no  surveillance  but  that  of 
the  clouds  of  heaven;  and  from  ten  to  eleven 
in  the  morning  and  from  three  to  four  hi  the 
afternoon  it  held  uninterrupted  converse  with 
the  free  veldt  and  mountain  bred  Boers  in  the 
yard,  to  whom  its  very  light  and  touch  were 
as  benedictions  from  home. 

It  was  seven  weeks  from  the  time  of  his  ar- 
rival at  Pietermaritzburg  that  Danie  Linde 
first  arose  from  his  cot  and  tottered  out  into 
the  blessed  sunshine  of  the  court,  leaning  heav- 
80 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ily  on  the  shoulder  of  one  of  his  fellow-pris- 
oners and  compatriots, — seven  weeks  of  suf- 
fering and  monotony  and  mental  depression 
that  had  seemed  like  seven  years  of  torture. 
In  all  that  seven  weeks  he  had  neither  seen 
nor  heard,  any  more  than  he  had  felt,  anything 
but  pain  and  sorrow.  He  had  been  surrounded 
by  misery  and  picketed  by  death.  Men  with 
whom  he  had  interchanged  no  sounds  but  sighs, 
whose  friendship  he  had  won  only  by  glances, 
wHbse  sorrows  and  agonies  he  had  sympa- 
thised with  only  through  his  own,  had,  one 
after  one,  murmured  and  grown  silent  and 
disappeared.  But  their  cots  were  never  empty. 
New  sufferers  had  filled  them,  many  to  follow 
their  predecessors  on  the  same  dark  road. 
His  own  courage  had  given  way  under  the 
strain,  and  he  had  prayed  to  follow  also. 

He  was  worn  and  thin  and  weak  when  he 
made  his  first  appearance  in  the  court  on  that 
bright  morning  in  February.  But,  at  the 
kindly  touch  of  the  sun  he  had  not  seen  for 
so  long,  his  hopelessness  disappeared  as  if  by 
magic.  At  the  warning  sound  of  the  bell  an 
81 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

hour  later  he  re-entered  the  building,  and  an- 
swered to  his  name  with  a  smile  upon  his  face. 
He  began  to  live  again. 

The  news  of  the  war  that  reached  the  pris- 
oners was  unsatisfactory.  It  was  all  of  Eng- 
lish victories  and  Boer  reverses.  But  he  could 
easily  account  for  that.  It  came  from  Eng- 
lish sources  and  was  filtered  through  prison 
walls.  So  he  refused  to  believe  it,  and  did  his 
best  to  put  his  renewed  heart  into  his  fellows. 
As  to  Bettie,  he  longed  to  hear  from  her,  to 
send  her  word.  She  was  always  in  his  thoughts. 
But  at  least  she  had  heard  of  him,  he  was  sure. 
His  old  antagonist,  his  new  friend,  Campbell, 
had  promised  to  communicate  with  her  and 
to  let  her  know  that  he  was  a  prisoner,  but 
living.  He  could  believe  in  Campbell.  He 
was  a  gentleman,  and,  what  was  more,  a  man. 
He  did  believe  in  him. 

"Yes,"  he  said  to  himself,  "there  are  some 
good  Englishmen.  My  friend  is  one  of  them. 
He  will  keep  his  word." 

His  certainty  that  Bettie  at  least  knew  he 
was  alive  and  safe  and  his  friendship  for  and 
82 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

belief  in  Campbell  put  him  in  a  better  humour 
with  all  his  conquerors.  He  held  long  con- 
versations, and  not  disagreeable  ones,  with 
the  surgeon  in  charge  of  the  hospital,  to  whom 
Campbell  had  recommended  him  by  letter. 
He  talked  often  and  cheerfully  with  his  guards, 
and  soon  became  quite  a  favourite  among 
them. 

One  day  he  was  sitting  on  a  sunny  bench 
in  the  court,  dreaming  of  home,  of  a  possible 
escape,  of  the  chance  of  being  able  to  fight 
once  more  for  his  country,  when  a  young  Eng- 
lish officer  approached  him. 

"  Adjutant.  Linde,  is  it?"  he  asked. 

Danie  rose.  "That  is  my  name,"  he  said, 
wondering.  For  a  second  he  felt  guiltily  as 
if  the  Englishman  might  have  detected  his 
thoughts  in  his  face.  But  the  officer  relieved 
him  by  holding  out  his  hand  to  him  with  a 
pleasant  smile. 

"I  was  told  about  you  by  my  friend,  Cap- 
tain  Campbell,"   he  said,    "and   promised   to 
come  and  see  you  when  I  got  to  Pietermaritz- 
burg.    Do  you  remember  him?" 
83 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Indeed,  I  do,"  replied  Danie,  gratefully. 
"I  hope  he  is  well?" 

"He  was  when  I  saw  him,"  returned  the 
other.  "It  is  on  his  account  that  I  came  to 
see  you.  I  may  be  able  to  help  you.  Would 
you  accept  a  parole  if  it  were  offered?" 

Danie  was  embarrassed.  "Why,"  he  said, 
"I — I  hadn't  thought  about  one.  I  should 
have  to  think  of  the  matter" — 

"Now,  now,"  broke  in  the  other  pleasantly, 
"you  would  be  much  wiser  to  do  so.  There 
is  absolutely  no  chance  of  your  escaping  from 
Pietermaritzburg,  even  if  you  were  free  in 
the  streets.  Your  capital  has  been  taken,  and 
your  people  have  been  driven  up  into  the 
northern  part  of  the  Transvaal,  where  they 
are  still  foolishly  carrying  on  a  small  guerilla 
warfare.  You  would  have  to  cross  hundreds 
of  miles  of  country  held  by  us  to  reach  them. 
And  I  will  tell  you  privately  that  you  will 
never  be  exchanged.  Our  government  is  de- 
termined to  keep  every  Boer  captured  until 
peace  has  been  declared.  You  may  very  likely 
be  sent  to  Saint  Helena  shortly." 
84 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Even  then,"  began  Danie,  uncertainly, 
"I  don't  know" — 

"Furthermore,"  continued  his  interlocutor, 
persuasively,  "it  is  an  absolute  certainty — 
and  you  know  it  as  well  as  I  do — that  this 
war  can  only  end  in  one  way, — in  the  com- 
plete subjugation  of  the  Transvaal  and  the 
Free  State,  and  in  their  amalgamation  into  the 
British  empire.  Now,  if  you  should  choose 
to_  be  sensible, — to  help  yourself  and  your 
country  in  the  best  possible  way, — I  can  set 
you  free  and  put  you  in  the  way  of  doing  so. 
It  is  only  necessary  for  you  to  say  the 
word." 

Danie  was  startled.  "What  do  you  mean?" 
he  questioned. 

The  Englishman  looked  him  hard  in  the 
eyes.  "Would  you  accept  an  appointment 
in  the  Intelligence  Department?  We  would 
put  you  in  the  Free  State,  where  you  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  your  people" — 

Danie  straightened  up  to  his  full  height, 
and  his  face  grew  hard  and  white.  "Stop!" 
he  cried.  "Do  I  understand  that  you  ask 
85 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

me  to  become  a  traitor?    To  desert  my  people 
and  serve  you  against  them?" 

"Don't  use  such  harsh  terms,"  said  the 
other.  "  It  is  only  " — 

Danie  interrupted  him  again.  "Did  Cap- 
tain Campbell  ask  you  to  put  this  insulting 
proposition  to  me?  Tell  me  that!"  he  thun- 
dered. 

The  Englishman  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
"It  is  my  own  offer,  made  solely  out  of  con- 
sideration for  a  prote"g£  of  my  friend,"  he 
said  coldly.  "But  I  have  no  doubt  that  Cap- 
tain Campbell  would  be  very  glad  to  see  you 
show  a  little  sense  in  the  matter.  However, 
that  is  your  affair.  If  you  prefer  to  rot  here" — 

"I  do  prefer  to  rot  here!"  cried  the  fiery 
Boer.  "And  I  tell  you  now  that,  although 
I  was  at  first  weak  enough  to  consider,  though 
but  for  a  moment,  your  offer  of  a  parole,  I 
have  to  thank  you  for  bringing  me  back  to 
myself.  I  refuse  it  under  any  and  all  circum- 
stances. I  scorn  the  offer  as  I  scorn  the  man 
who  made  it.  I  had  rather  have  you  shoot 
me  than  make  such  an  offer  twice!" 
86 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"All  right!"  retorted  the  angry  Briton. 
"I  am  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  oblige  you  in 
every  particular.  I  wish  you  good-afternoon." 
And  he  turned  on  his  heel,  and  walked  off. 

Hours,  days,  weeks,  months,  dragged  wearily 
by.  The  prisoner  began  to  be  bothered  with 
insomnia.  Night  after  night  he  would  lie  in 
his  cot  and  listen  to  the  monotonous  ticking 
of  the  great  clock  in  the  operating-room,  the 
Miext  to  his  own.  Oh,  how  long  the  nights  were! 
Staring  into  the  darkness,  he  would  try  to  re- 
sist the  influences  of  sound  by  conjuring  up 
scenes  of  home  and  of  the  camp.  But  neither 
his  imagination  nor  the  faint,  hourly  calls  of 
the  sentries  around  the  walls,  nor  the  moans 
of  the  sick  in  their  deliriums,  nor  the  soft  rustle 
of  the  nurses'  garments,  the  little  clicking  of 
their  cups  and  pans,  could  drown  or  overcome 
that  eternal,  infernal  tick,  tick,  tick,  that  grew 
and  increased  and  beat  like  hammers  upon 
his  throbbing  brain.  Toward  morning  only 
would  he  fall  into  uneasy  sleep,  and  even  such 
dozing  as  his  weary  body  finally  secured  was 
interrupted  and  unreal.  He  would  start  up 
87 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

as  if  haunted  by  ghosts.  The  fright,  the  diz- 
ziness, would  slowly  disappear,  and  he  would 
rub  his  eyes  and  realise  his  surroundings. 

"Ach!"  he  would  murmur,  "how  crazy  I 
am!  I  am  still  a  prisoner  in  Pietermaritz- 
burg.  The  chains  of  my  captivity  hold  me  as 
tightly  as  ever." 

Then  the  long-expected  days  would  break 
after  those  interminable  nights  of  dreams. 
And  such  days!  But  at  least  there  was  no 
unreality,  no  deceit,  about  them. 

One  morning  he  was  standing  near  the  barred 
window  of  the  reception-room,  where  he  was 
sometimes  allowed  to  remain  alone,  when  a 
late  visitor  entered  with  a  basket  of  fruit.  The 
sentry  in  the  hall,  whose  tithe  claim  was  al-  ' 
ways  respected,  grinned  as  he  saluted. 

Danie  had  invariably  avoided  the  visitors 
to  the  prison  as  he  would  the  pest.  He  never 
could  quite  free  his  mind  of  the  idea  that  a 
prison,  even  a  prison  of  war,  was  not  quite 
the  proper  place  for  a  man  to  be  found;  and, 
moreover,  he  was  assured  in  his  own  mind 
that  most  of  those  who  visited  the  prisoners 
88 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

came  but  to  sate  an  idle  curiosity,  of  which 
he,  at  least,  determined  never  to  be  the  ob- 
ject. But  this  time  he  was  fairly  caught. 
He  bit  his  lip  and  waited,  still  gazing  rigidly 
out  of  the  window. 

The  room  was  entered, — a  momentary  si- 
lence,—light  steps  approached  him,  halted 
behind  him.  He  could  but  turn.  He  faced 
an  embarrassed,  blushing  girl  of  eighteen,  her 
ke*yes  raised  doubtfully  to  his,  her  lips  quiver- 
ing in  an  uncertain  smile.  Danie  suddenly 
realised  that  he  was  scowling  frightfully.  He 
corrected  his  expression  with  such  haste  that 
— he  felt  himself — he  went  too  far  in  the  op- 
posite direction. 

The  girl  laughed  frankly.  "Ah!  that  is  bet- 
ter, Mr.  Linde,"  she  said.  "You  don't  look 
so  much  like  a  bear.  You  positively  fright- 
ened me  for  a  moment,  and  yet  I  only  came 
to  bring  you  something  from  people  who  would 
be  your  friends  if  you  would  let  them." 

"I — I  did  not  expect  visitors,"  he  stam- 
mered. "I  thought  the  usual  hour  for  them 
had  passed." 

89 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"It  has,"  she  answered  him  lightly.  "But 
I  saw  your  face  at  the  window,  and  I  wished 
to  offer  you  some  fruit  that  I  had  with  me. 
I  have  never  had  the  opportunity  before." 

"That  is  because  I  have  never  seen  you 
before,"  said  Danie,  gallantly. 

"That  is  not  my  fault,"  she  answered.  "I 
and  my  mother  have  been  to  see  the  poor 
prisoners,  one  or  both  of  us,  every  day  for 
months.  We  have  seen  you  in  the  distance 
often,  but  you  would  not  look  at  us." 

"But  how  did  you  get  in?  Ah!  your  face 
would  be  a  key  to  any  door,"  he  returned. 

"Hush!"  she  said.  "The  sentries  know 
me  as  well  as  one  of  their  own  prisoners,  and 
passed  me  for  a  moment.  But  we  are  not 
supposed  to  have  any  conversation  with  the 
prisoners  at  all.  The  officer  of  the  guard  will 
be  back  in  a  minute,  and  I  must  go.  You 
will  let  us  see  you  again?" 

"Indeed" — he   began   to   protest;   but   the 

sentry  stepped  to  the  door,  and  she  had  slipped 

out  and  down  the  hall.    He  ran  to  the  window, 

and  watched  her  emerge  into  the  street  and 

90 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

out  of  his  sight.  The  rest  of  that  day  and 
the  night  were  but  waiting  for  the  day  to  come. 

The  next  morning  at  the  visitors'  hour  he 
was  waiting  at  the  grating  that  separated 
the  prisoners  from  their  friends.  The  girl 
was  there  among  the  first,  and  greeted  him 
with  a  bright  smile.  A  few  words,  a  bunch 
of  grapes,  and  she  was  gone. 

During  the  next  two  weeks  Danie  saw  her 
every  day,  sometimes  with  her  mother,  some- 
tunes  alone.  He  learned  that  their  name  was 
Maritz,  that  the  daughter's  name  was  Martha, 
that  they  were  Natal  Boers  of  concealed  but 
strong  sympathy  for  the  Republican  cause. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  friendship  and  kind- 
ness of  the  two  women  his  days  became  brighter, 
his  nights  grew  quieter.  He  thought  much 
about  Martha  Maritz. 

"Ah!"  he  said  to  himself,  "blood  is  thicker 
than  water,  after  all.  I  could  not  like  her 
and  her  mother  so  much  if  they  were  Eng- 
lish. But  they  are  Boers,  real  Boers,  even 
though  they  are  Natalers  and  English  sub- 
jects. How  much  she  reminds  me  of  my  own 
91 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

dear  Bettie!  and  yet  her  hair  is  light,  her  eyes 
brown,  and  she  is  smaller."  And,  as  he  had 
done  a  thousand  times  before,  he  opened  the 
little  bracelet  on  his  wrist,  and  contemplated 
the  features  of  his  betrothed  long  and  ear- 
nestly. "0  Bettie,"  he  mused,  "how  quickly 
I  should  forget  her,  were  you  near  me!  and 
how  little  I  can  forget  you  under  any  cir- 
cumstances!" 

One  bright  morning  early  in  May  Martha 
Maritz  entered  the  hall  of  the  prison  with  the 
usual  basket,  and  went  up  to  the  guard  near 
the  grating  behind  which  the  eager  prisoners 
were  crowded.  The  guard  took  the  basket 
from  her  hands,  and  accepted  smilingly  his  own 
parcel  unopened. 

The  girl  nodded  and  smiled  at  the  prison- 
ers, singling  out  Danie  with  her  quick  eyes, 
and  said  to  the  guard  in  English,  and  loud 
enough  for  the  prisoners  to  hear, — 

"The    dozen    oranges    are    for    Mr.    Linde, 
please."    Then  she  turned  toward  the  throng- 
ing prisoners  behind  their  bars,  and  said  rap- 
idly, in  Dutch,  "Open  carefully!" 
92 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  guard  interposed  suspiciously.  "No 
talking  to  the  prisoners,  ma'am.  You  know 
that,  Miss  Maritz." 

"All  right,  Sergeant,"  she  said,  smiling  at 
him.  "I'll  try  to  remember.  I  only  said 
good-morning  to  them.  There  is  no  harm 
in  that,  is  there?  The  poor  fellows  don't  hear 
it  often." 

She  was  gone.  Danie  took  his  oranges  with 
-Trembling  hands,  and  made  his  way  to  his  cot. 
He  looked  them  over  in  an  apparently  careless 
manner.  He  could  see  nothing.  What  could 
she  have  meant?  The  appealing  eyes  of  fifty 
men  were  on  him  as  he  handled  the  rare  fruit: 
he  could  not  refuse  to  share  with  them;  and 
yet —  Ah !  this  one  was  slit  a  little.  He  pressed 
his  thumb  against  the  tiny  and  almost  invisi- 
ble hole  hi  the  golden  fruit,  and  broke  the 
skin.  His  thumb  touched  paper,  his  fingers 
drew  it  out  under  cover  of  his  other  hand. 
That  was  what  he  was  after,  no  doubt;  and 
with  a  riotous  heart  he  tossed  the  other  eleven 
oranges  to  his  eager  comrades.  The  tiny 
twist  of  paper  he  slipped  unseen  from  the  palm 
93 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  to  read,  to  investi- 
gate, when  opportunity  offered. 

The  opportunity  came  that  afternoon  in 
the  yard.  Seated  on  the  very  bench  on 
which  he  had  sat  during  his  bitter  interview 
with  the  English  officer  who  had  come  to  him 
from  Campbell,  and  who  had  tried  to  tempt 
him  to  treachery, — he  shuddered  when  he 
thought  of  it, — he  unfolded  the  bit  of  tissue, 
and  read  its  contents.  The  letter  was  as 
follows : — 

Dear  Mr.  Linde, — It  is  not  without  a  good  deal  of 
trepidation  on  both  our  accounts  that  I  am  trying 
to  smuggle  this  into  your  hand.  If  you  get  it,  it  is 
well.  If  not,  anything  may  happen.  We — my 
mother  and  myself — feel  deeply  for  our  poor  kinsmen 
in  the  Republics,  and  we  would  willingly  do  what  we 
could  for  the  cause.  The  hospital  surgeon  told  me  a 
few  days  ago  that  you  are  likely  to  be  removed 
to  Saint  Helena  at  any  time.  We  thought  there- 
fore that  you  should  try  to  escape  at  once,  if  such 
a  thing  were  possible;  and  now  it  seems  to  be.  Last 
night  we  heard  that  more  wounded  are  to  be  brought 
to  the  hospital  to-morrow  (Thursday);  and  a  daring 
idea  came  to  us,— daring  for  you,  I  mean. 
94 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  ambulances  will  be  at  the  hospital  about  four 
o  'clock  to-morrow.  If  you  can  conceal  yourself,  for  a 
few  moments  after  the  call,  outside  in  the  yard, — pos- 
sibly get  some  one  to  answer  to  your  name  when 
the  roll  is  called, — and  can  manage  to  slip  into  the 
first  empty  ambulance,  you  will  stand  a  good  chance 
of  being  carried  outside  of  the  walls  before  your 
escape  is  discovered.  The  ambulances  will  return  at 
once  to  the  station  for  more  of  the  wounded,  and 
you  will  have  a  chance  to  drop  out  while  going  through 
the  streets.  I  will  wait  on  the  sidewalk  about  a 
*Hock  down,  and  behind  some  large  trees  close  to 
the  road,  with  a  cloak  and  an  officer's  cap  under  my 
shawl.  We  will  then  go  right  to  our  house,  where 
everything  will  be  in  readiness  to  further  your  escape. 
If  you  dare  to  make  the  attempt,  let  me  know  to-mor- 
row morning  by  whistling  a  few  bars  of  our  national 
anthem  when  you  see  me.  May  God  aid  us!  Burn 
or  destroy  this  letter  as  soon  as  you  have  read  it. 
Your  true  friend, 

MARTHA  MARITZ. 

By  the  time  Danie  had  finished  this  epistle, 
the  cold  perspiration  was  running  over  his 
face.  He  rolled  the  thin  tissue  into  a  little 
ball  between  his  palms,  and  clapped  it  to  his 
mouth. 

95 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Alia  Magtie!"  he  said  softly,  "that  girl 
should  be  a  general!  And  this  pill, — it  is 
sweeter  than  all  the  sugar-coated  ones  the 
surgeon  has  been  giving  me  for  the  last  three 
months!  Down  it  goes!"  He  swallowed  it 
with  alacrity.  "  Will  I  try  her  plan  ?  I  should 
think  I  would!  I  might  as  well  go  to  Saint 
Helena  for  trying  to  escape  as  for  not  trying 
to.  I  will  whistle  the  old  Volkslied  to-morrow 
so  that  she  could  hear  it  at  home!  But  if  I 
should  be  captured  while  with  her  or  in  her 
charge, — oh,  the  shame!"  His  joy  changed 
suddenly  to  a  horrible  fear;  and,  closing  his 
eyes  and  clasping  his  hands  where  he  sat, 
Danie  prayed,  though  silently,  as  he  had  never 
prayed  before: — 

"0  God  of  my  fathers,  to  Thee  I  appeal  for 
courage,  wisdom,  and  guidance.  Thou  near- 
est the  oppressed  even  through  prison  walls, 
and  even  here  Thy  hand  can  reach  and  help  me. 
Take  Thou  charge  of  me,  0  Lord,  and  I  shall 
be  safe.  0  heavenly  Father,  guard  those 
who  are  exposing  themselves  to  danger  for  my 
sake,  so  that  no  harm  befall  them.  Amen!" 
96 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

It  was  far  into  the  night  before  his  disturbed 
and  tumultuous  thoughts  allowed  him  to  sleep. 
Long  before  daylight  he  was  awakened  by  a 
nurse  who  stumbled  over  an  empty  basin, 
causing  a  noise  that,  light  as  it  was,  brought 
Danie  upright  on  his  cot.  He  had  been  dream- 
ing of  Blaauwkop  and  of  the  days  of  old;  he 
had  been  in  Bettie's  very  presence,  her  happy 
smile  shining  on  him,  her  happy  hand  in  his. 
Qb,  the  recollection!  He  prepared  himself 
for  an  hour  of  worry,  of  fear,  of  sleepless  toss- 
ing; but  soon  he  was  dozing  and  dreaming  again. 
And  this  time  it  was  of  the  field,  of  the  camp. 
He  had  accomplished  his  escape,  he  was  back 
with  his  old  commando.  He  and  others  were 
seated  at  a  'fire,  relating  their  experiences 
of  the  day's  fighting, — how  Jan  dodged 
when  the  shell  nearly  struck  the  stone  behind 
which  he  was  lying.  "Alia  Kragtie!"  Jan 
replied,  "  but,  when  that  old  khaki  chased  you 
down  in  the  flat  there,  how  hollow  you  made 
your  back!  If  Japie  hadn't  shot  him,  you 
would  have  died  of  fright  before  you  reached 
the  kopj  e  you  were  making  for !"  "  There  come 
97 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  khakis  now!"  shouted  another  young 
burgher. 

And  Danie  woke  to  find  himself  again  up- 
right, his  heart  beating  so  loudly  that  he 
thought  for  a  while  he  was  ill.  So  intoxi- 
cated was  his  mind  with  the  prospect  of  free- 
dom on  which  it  dwelt  that  he  remained  sitting 
up  in  his  cot  until  the  grey  dawn,  breaking 
through  the  dark  curtains  of  the  night,  bore 
the  day  that  was  to  bring  entire  happiness  or 
desperate  grief, — freedom  or  deportation. 

At  nine  o'clock,  the  usual  hour  for  visitors, 
Danie  was  pressed  against  the  bars  that  marked 
the  prisoners'  limit  of  intercourse.  Prompt 
to  the  hour  and  true  to  her  charitable  custom, 
Martha  Maritz  appeared  in  the  doorway  with 
her  well-known  basket.  Danie's  eyes  were 
fastened  on  hers  from  the  moment  she  entered 
the  hall;  and,  when  she  returned  his  compelling 
regard,  he  at  once  began  to  whistle  the  Volks- 
lied,  slowly  and  distinctly.  The  girl  turned 
pale  as  death  with  excitement,  but  instantly 
the  crimson  blood  mantled  her  cheeks,  her 


98 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

brow,  her  throat;  and  her  flashing  eyes  told 
him  how  great  her  joy  was  at  his  acceptance  of 
her  plan.  She  went  away  earlier  than  usual, 
and  Danie  was  left  to  pass  the  day  with  his 
thoughts  and  his  plans.  It  still  lacked  seven 
long  hours  of  the  time  set  for  the  attempt. 


99 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


THE  tortoise,  Time,  never  seems  to  crawl 
more  slowly  than  on  occasions  when 
those  hares,  men's  hopes,  awake  to  leave  it 
behind  them  in  leaps  that  express  their  scorn 
as  well  as  their  enthusiasm.  Yet  the  little 
animals  are  always  fortunate  if  finally  per- 
mitted by  fate  to  touch  the  goal  in  company 
with  the  slow  but  sure  chelonian. 

Before  he  went  out  into  the  yard  for  what 
he  hoped  would  be  his  last  hour  of  exercise 
there,  the  young  Boer  had  made  all  his  plans, 
selected  from  his  few  possessions  spread  upon 
his  cot  those  which  he  intended  to  take  with 
him, — his  Bible,  his  tooth-brush,  a  pocket- 
knife,  a  cigarette  box  containing  two  needles, 
some  short  lengths  of  thread,  and  a  few  buttons. 
His  other  property,  which  amounted  to  quite 
a  little  for  a  man  in  his  position,  and  included 
a  number  of  old  magazines  and  papers,  he  left 
behind  him  for  the  benefit  of  the  men  he  had 
lived  with  for  so  long.  How  he — a  prisoner 
who,  when  captured,  had  nothing  on  his  per- 
100 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

son  but  the  clothes  he  wore — came  by  such  a 
little  stock  of  goods  is  not  explained.  But 
it  is  observable  that  man,  no  matter  where  or 
under  what  circumstances  he  may  exist,  col- 
lects about  him  in  good  time  numberless  waifs 
and  strays  of  property,  things  he  needs  and 
things  he  does  not  need,  just  as  the  smallest, 
loneliest  peak  of  rock  that  juts  out  of  a  soli- 
tary ocean  will  attract  the  flotsam  and  jet- 
of  the  seas  around,  expanding  itself  at 
last  by  so  much. 

With  the  four  articles  of  property  described 
concealed  about  his  rather  ragged  person, 
Danie  stood  anxiously  looking  at  the  sky 
above  at  half-past  three  on  that  fateful  after- 
noon. Thick,  black  clouds  had  begun  to 
tumble  up  from  behind  the  Bothasbergen  hi 
the  east,  and  then-  great  wings  were  rapidly 
spreading  darkly  over  the  blue  expanse  that 
paled  before  them.  The  distant  and  constant 
rumble  of  heavy  thunder,  beating  like  waves 
against  the  rocks  of  the  hills,  he  could  already 
hear.  Every  now  and  then  the  faint  reflection 
of  still  distant  lightning  could  be  seen  on  the 
101 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

clouds  overhead.  One  of  the  quick,  fierce 
South  African  winter  storms  was  about  to 
sweep  Pietermaritzburg.  It  might  last  for 
hours. 

Danie  was  perhaps  the  only  person  in  the 
town  who  thanked  God  with  all  his  heart  for 
the  cold,  black  gloom.  It  was  too  late,  he 
was  sure,  for  such  a  storm  to  bring  rain;  and 
he  counted  much  on  the  assistance  that  the 
black  darkness  was  bound  to  afford  him. 

Suddenly — at  about  quarter  to  four — the 
sentry  outside  the  great  gates  turned  to  the 
court,  and,  pressing  his  face  against  the  bars, 
shouted  to  the  sentry  at  the  door  of  the  hos- 
pital building. 

"Ha-a-all  right!"  he  called. 

The  other  man  turned  at  once,  and  the  as- 
sembly bell  sounded.  The  prisoners  gath- 
ered about  the  door,  and  began  to  march  in 
according  to  then*  usual  custom,  in  line  and 
as  nearly  in  alphabetical  order  as  possible; 
for  this  saved  them  time  at  the  roll-call  that 
was  held  as  they  entered.  Their  guards  were 
apparently  in  great  haste  to  get  them  in  this 
102 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

day;  and,  as  Danie  neared  the  door,  he  slipped 
out  of  the  line  without  being  observed.  He 
dropped  behind  two  large  water-butts  that 
stood  close  together  and  nearly  against  the 
wall  of  the  building,  ten  feet  from  the  door. 
He  had  made  arrangements  with  one  friend 
to  fall  back  in  the  line  and  answer  to  the  name 
of  "Linde"  when  it  should  be  called.  He 
counted  on  the  haste  of  the  officer  in  charge 
to  get  the  prisoners  out  of  the  way  before  the 
arrival  of  the  ambulances.  The  chances  were 
fair  that  he  would  not  note  the  substitution. 

Danie  crouched  and  waited.  A  corporal 
of  the  prison  guard  came  out  of  the  door  as 
soon  as  the  last  man  was  in,  slammed  and 
bolted  it  behind  him,  and  walked  across  the 
court  toward  the  gates,  jingling  the  keys  in 
his  hand.  Danie  could  see  him  clearly  through 
the  slight  curving  angle  of  space  between  the 
butts.  He  unlocked  the  gates,  and  stood 
aside.  There  was  a  rattle  beyond  not  quite 
drowned  by  the  clamorous  thunder  above, 
the  outer  sentries  pushed  the  heavy  gates  open, 
and  three  ambulance  wagons  drove  into  and 
103 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

across  the  court,,  and  swung  around  so  that 
their  tails  were  opposite  to  the  door  of  the  hos- 
pital, which  the  corporal,  leaving  the  outer 
gates  open  and  running  quickly  across  the 
court,  speedily  unlocked.  The  surgeon  came 
to  the  door, — Danie  could  hear  his  voice, — 
and  gave  orders.  The  bearers,  grouped  about 
the  backs  of  the  wagons,  began  to  lift  out  the 
stretchers  and  take  them  into  the  building. 
One  man  was  left  with  the  horses.  Danie  was 
swayed  by  a  strong  impulse,  born  of  his  fear 
of  failure  in  his  plan  and  fathered  by  the  ap- 
parent opportunity  open  before  him,  to  leap 
from  his  hiding-place  and  rush  through  the 
gates,  trusting  to  his  speed  to  get  away  from 
the  guard  at  the  horses'  heads  and  the  sentries 
at  the  entrance.  He  fortunately  restrained 
himself  until  the  bearers  returned  for  another 
load  of  his  poor  compatriots,  whose  white  faces 
he  could  see,  whose  groans  and  shrieks  he  could 
hear,  as  they  were  rudely  lifted  out  and  jostled 
by  the  tired  and  overworked  attendants.  One 
wounded  man,  whose  face  he  never  forgot, 
looked  into  his  eyes  through  the  crack  between 
104 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  butts,  and,  half  raising  his  head  from  the 
bloody  pillow,  pointed  a  shaking  finger  at  him 
as  he  was  being  lifted  from  the  wagon.  But 
the  attendants  paid  no  attention  to  what 
they  considered,  if  at  all,  the  vagaries  of  a 
dying  Boer;  and  Danie's  horrible  fright  went 
for  nothing. 

Five  times  the  bearers  of  these  bloody  bur- 
dens came  and  went.  At  last  the  supreme 
moment  had  arrived.  The  ambulances  were 
empty,  and  in  half  a  minute  the  attendants 
would  be  back  and  in  their  places,  and  the 
wagons  would  be  through  the  gates  and  on 
their  way  for  more  loads  of  sorrow  at  the  sta- 
tion. 

Danie  drew  a  long  breath,  and  stole  from  his 
concealment  to  the  ambulances.  He  climbed 
rapidly,  but  so  softly  as  hardly  to  sway  it, 
into  the  nearest  of  the  three,  and,  dropping 
on  the  floor  beneath  the  seat  along  the  side, 
pulled  over  himself  a  loose  blanket  that  was 
lying  there.  He  had  scarcely  completed  his 
action  when  he  heard  voices  again,  the  hospi- 
tal door  slammed  for  the  last  time,  a  man 
105 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

swung  himself  into  the  seat  above  Danie,  and 
the  three  wagons  started.  As  they  rolled 
slowly  through  the  court,  he  knew  to  each  inch 
where  he  was.  As  he  passed  at  last  out  of 
those  gates  he  knew  so  well,  they  banged  be- 
hind him, — the  loud  clang  of  iron  behind  him! 
It  was  the  most  cheerful  sound  he  had  heard 
since  the  Boer  Krupps  opened  at  Dundee. 

They  turned  down  the  street,  and  the  horses 
broke  into  a  trot.  He  could  tell  from  the 
motion.  The  man  on  the  seat  above  him,  al- 
ready in  a  conversation  with  the  driver, — which 
Danie  could  hear,  smothered  though  he  was 
in  the  blanket,  but  of  which  he  could  not  make 
out  the  purport, — suddenly  rose,  and,  from  the 
movement,  Danie  judged  that  he  was  climbing 
into  the  seat  with  his  comrade.  The  half- 
stifled  Boer  ventured  to  lift  the  corner  of  the 
blanket,  and  look  out  from  his  dark  hiding- 
place.  The  coast  was  comparatively  clear. 
The  two  men  were  on  the  front  seat,  their 
backs  toward  him.  He  edged,  still  beneath 
the  blanket,  to  the  open  end  of  the  ambulance, 
hung  his  feet  over,  wrapped  the  blanket  about 
106 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  head,  and  fell  as  quietly  as  he  could  into 
the  road.  Dazed  by  the  fall,  he  still  managed 
to  turn  his  head  on  the  ground  and  look  after 
the  wagon  he  had  so  unceremoniously  left. 
It  had  not  slackened  its  pace.  It  was  evident 
that  the  driver  and  the  stretcher-bearer  had 
had  no  idea  of  his  presence  and  had  not  heard 
his  fall.  So  far  he  was  safe. 

He  rose  rapidly,  and,  wrapping  the  blanket 
about  his  head  and  shoulders,  ran  to  the  shel- 
ter of  the  great  trees  that  overhung  the  road. 
The  thunder  was  crashing  in  long,  loud  peals; 
the  intense  darkness  was  made  still  blacker 
and  more  impenetrable  by  the  blinding  bril- 
liancy of  the  flashes  that  lighted  the  world 
every  other  minute.  He  had  no  idea  where 
he  was,  but  instinctively  took  the  opposite 
direction  to  that  of  his  brief  ride. 

He  had  not  gone  twenty  paces  when  he  ran 
plump  into  somebody,  and  felt  a  pair  of  arms 
flung  hastily  around  him.  He  twisted  him- 
self quickly  to  the  left  and  partly  out  of  their 
grip,  raising  his  right  hand  for  a  blow  at  the 
same  instant,  when  its  descent  was  stopped  in 
107 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

mid-air  by  a  soft  voice  that  whispered:  "Is 
this  you,  Mr.  Linde?    Is  it  really  you?" 

At  that  instant  a  light,  preliminary  flash  of 
lightning  opened  up  the  long  vista  of  the  side- 
walk to  his  eyes,  and  before  him,  looking  up 
at  his,  he  saw  the  white,  frightened  face  of 
Martha  Maritz.  She  recovered  her  balance, 
disturbed  by  the  sudden  shock  of  their  meet- 
ing, and  dropped  her  arms  from  about  his 
waist. 

"0  my  dear  preserver,"  he  exclaimed, 
"I  have  found  you!  I  didn't  think —  Were 
you  brave  enough  to  come  out  in  this  dread- 
ful storm  for  me?" 

"Come,  come  quickly!"  she  breathed. 
"Here  is  your  cloak,  your  hat.  Give  me  the 
blanket  you  have.  I  will  use  it  for  a  shawl. 
Come.  We  must  go  directly." 

He  took  the  garments  she  offered  him,  and 
donned  them.  Then  he  wrapped  the  blanket 
around  her,  and,  taking  her  hand  in  his,  let 
her  lead  him  on.  They  passed  quickly  and  in 
silence  down  a  side  street,  then  turned  an- 
other corner. 

108 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"I  am  going  to  take  you  to  the  house  of  a 
friend,"  she  said.  "I  am  afraid  our  home 
might  not  be  safe  for  you." 

"Anywhere" — he   began. 

"My  mother  is  there,  too,"  she  interrupted 
hurriedly;  "and  we  have  there  everything  you 
will  need,  except  a  horse,— clothes,  razors, 
money,  food.  You  must  be  off  as  soon  as  you 
can  get  ready.  I  mil  not  have  you  caught  and 
made  a  prisoner  again  in  this  dreadful  town." 

She  almost  dragged  him  into  a  little  gateway 
and  up  a  walk  to  the  door  of  a  cottage,  set 
some  distance  back  from  the  street.  A  knock, 
the  door  was  opened, — some  people  stood 
there, — he  was  hurried  inside,  and  the  door 
was  softly  shut  behind  him.  The  light,  the 
strangeness  of  the  situation,  embarrassed  him. 
He  replied  to  the  introductions  to  Mrs.  Maritz 
and  her  friends  and  received  their  congratula- 
tions with  a  whirling  brain.  When  the  first 
excitement  was  over  and  his  mind  had  become 
clearer,  calmer,  he  turned  again  to  pour  his 
thanks  out  at  the  feet  of  the  girl  who  had 
risked  so  much  to  save  him.  She  was  gone. 
109 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

An  hour  saw  him  washed,  shaved,  clothed, 
and  fed.  Mrs.  Maritz  had  trimmed  his  long 
uncut  hair  with  her  own  hands.  He  was 
standing  by  the  window  of  the  little  parlour, 
clad  in  the  field  uniform  of  a  British  captain 
of  cavalry,  and  looking  tenderly  at  the  like- 
ness of  Bettie  in  the  bracelet  on  his  arm,  when 
he  heard  a  little  noise  at  his  elbow.  He  turned. 
Martha  Maritz  was  standing  behind  him, 
gazing  at  him  with  shining  eyes.  He  held 
out  his  hands  to  her  impulsively. 

"Miss  Maritz,"  he  stammered,  "I  can  say 
but  little  of  what  I  feel  for  what  you  have 
risked  and  done  for  me.  Words  are  too  poor 
to  express  my  feeling.  But  here," — he  raised 
his  wrist  and  held  the  portrait  before  her, — 
"here  is  one  who,  when  she  meets  you,  will 
know  how  to  speak  adequately  for  us  both." 

Her  hands  seemed  to  turn  suddenly  cold 
in  his.  She  withdrew  them  gently  from  his 
grasp,  and  motioned  toward  the  portrait. 

"Let  me  see  it,"  she  whispered.  She  looked 
long  into  the  lovely  eyes  that  stared  at  her 
from  the  miniature.  Then  she  lowered  her  own. 
110 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Tell  her  I  did  it  for  her,  although  I  did  not 
know  it,"  she  said  finally,  looking  bravely 
up  at  him.  "And — and  give  her  my  love. 
Now,"  she  continued,  drawing  away  from 
him,  "now  you  must  go.  I  am  very  tired. 
God  bless  you  and  protect  you.  Good-bye." 

He  noticed  that  her  face  was  very  pale  and 
that  her  hands  were  trembling,  and  he  started 
anxiously  toward  her.  But  she  waved  him 
off,  i/and  walked  quickly  out  of  the  room. 
As  she  passed  through  the  door,  Danie  thought 
he  heard  a  little  noise,  like  a  sob.  But  he  could 
not  be  sure,  and  she  ran  up  the  stairs  without 
looking  back  at  him  once. 

With  the  deepest  protestations  of  friendship 
and  wishes  for  his  good  fortune,  intermingled 
with  much  and  varied  advice  and  information, 
Mrs.  Maritz  conducted  him  to  the  door  and 
let  him  go.  On  the  sidewalk — on  the  verge 
of  a  dangerous  and  unknown  future — he  turned 
and  gazed  back  at  the  house.  Pressed  to  the 
glass  of  an  upper  window,  he  could  dimly 
make  out  a  small  white  face.  He  waved  his 
hand  to  it  in  a  last  greeting,  and  went  on. 
Ill 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE  darkness  was  still  that  of  night  when 
Danie  Linde  went  out  alone  into  a  strange 
world  under  a  strange  disguise,  leaving  his 
friends  behind  him.  The  storm  was  raging 
and  racing  to  the  westward;  and  the  eager 
Boer,  obeying  the  instructions  of  his  saviours, 
followed  its  course  by  the  next  cross  street. 
He  strode  rapidly  down  Plough  Street,  and 
passed  in  front  of  the  Royal  Hotel  without 
turning  his  eyes  to  the  right  or  left.  Once 
more  in  a  darker  quarter  of  the  town,  he  quick- 
ened his  pace  as  much  as  he  could  without 
breaking  into  a  run  undignified  and  unbe- 
fitting an  English  officer.  He  was  nearing  the 
outskirts.  He  had  been  told  that  he  would 
have  to  make  his  exit  through  a  regularly 
guarded  gate,  that  the  town  was  encompassed 
by  pickets  and  by  small  camps,  and  by  entangle- 
ments of  barbed  wire.  A  low  house,  set  some- 
what apart  from  the  others  about  him  and 
well  lighted,  stood  across  the  road.  Hitched 
to  a  rickety  fence  in  front  of  it  were  half  a  dozen 
112 


"The  surprised  and  pained  animal  made 
a  mighty  leap  "...  (seepage  US) 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

horses.    He    glanced    rapidly    up    and    down 
the  street.    It  seemed  deserted. 

Crossing  into  the  dark  shadows  of  a  clump 
of  trees  that  stood  between  him  and  the  lighted 
windows,  he  peered  carefully  around  the  trunk 
of  one  of  them,  and  looked  into  the  house. 
It  appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  tavern.  At  a  round 
table  in  the  centre  of  the  bright  room  were 
seated  a  number  of  men, — officers,  apparently. 
He'Vatched  them  for  a  minute,  and  then  stole 
cautiously  to  where  the  horses  were  grouped. 
Picking  out  the  best  as  well  as  he  could  in  the 
semi-darkness,  he  unhitched  it,  and  led  it 
quietly  some  paces  away  from  the  house.  He 
stopped.  There  was  no  noise,  no  evident  dis- 
covery of  his  theft  by  those  within.  He 
mounted,  and  rode  off  in  the  direction  of  the 
western  exit.  He  found,  as  he  had  been  told, 
that  his  way  was  barred.  As  he  approached 
the  gate,  a  sentry  stepped  out  into  the  road 
and  challenged  him.  Danie  pulled  up  at 
once:  the  man's  rifle  was  pointed  at  his 
breast. 

"Well?  "he  asked. 

113 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Upon  recognising  the  uniform  of  the  rider, 
who  now  towered  close  over  him,  the  sentry 
dropped  his  rifle  into  his  right  hand  and  par- 
tially opened  the  gate  with  his  left,  demand- 
ing at  the  same  time, — 

"Have  you  the  countersign,  sir?" 

"Countersign?"  asked  Danie,  with  a  beating 
heart.  "Why,  what  time  is  it,  my  man?" 

"Just  after  six,  sir,"  replied  the  soldier. 
"At  six  we  go  on  with  the  countersign." 

Danie  made  up  his  mind  in  a  hurry.  There 
was  nothing  else  to  do  but  make  a  break  for  it. 

"I  hadn't  thought  it  was  so  late,"  he  an- 
swered. "Here  is  the  word,"  and  he  leaned 
forward  in  his  saddle.  "Thank  God,  the  fool 
didn't  dismount  me,"  he  thought,  "or  I  should 
have  been  stuck." 

The  man  also  leaned  a  little  forward  toward 
the  officer,  wondering  in  his  own  mind  why 
his  superior  was  so  devilish  particular  about 
whispering  what  nobody  was  near  enough  to 
hear,  if  he  had  shouted  it.  At  that  instant 
the  officer  drove  his  spurs  into  the  flanks  of 
his  steed,  and  the  surprised  and  pained  ani- 
114 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

mal  made  a  mighty  leap  through  the  air,  bowl- 
ing over  the  unfortunate  sentry  like  a  ninepin 
and  landing  himself  and  his  rider  ten  feet  be- 
yond the  gate. 

Danie  had  covered  a  good  two  hundred 
yards  and  was  out  of  sight  in  the  darkness 
before  the  half-stunned  sentry  found  his  voice 
and  his  equilibrium.  He  heard  through  the 
sound  of  the  wind  rushing  by  his  face  a  faint 
.shout  from  the  direction  of  the  gate,  and 
then  a  shot, — in  a  minute  two  or  three  more. 
Then  all  was  silent  except  for  the  furious  rush 
and  thunder  of  his  horse,  to  whom  he  put  the 
spurs  fiercely  and  recklessly  from  time  to  time. 
When  he  had  covered,  as  he  thought,  two 
and  a  half  or  three  miles  on  the  straight  road 
west,  he  pulled  the  poor  brute  down  to  a  walk. 
The  horse  was  indeed  badly  blown;  and  it  oc- 
curred to  his  rider  that,  if  he  intended  to 
depend  on  his  mount  for  the  rest  of  the  night, — 
and  he  certainly  would  have  to,— he  must 
take  as  much  care  of  him  as  possible.  He 
stopped,  dismounted,  and  laid  his  ear  to  the 
ground.  He  listened  for  a  full  minute :  he  could 
115 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

hear  nothing.  As  he  rose,  he  remarked  that 
the  light  seemed  to  have  increased.  And 
in  fact  the  stars  were  out,  and  a  moon  was 
rising  in  the  east.  The  storm  that  had  been 
such  a  godsend  to  him — the  devout  Boer 
could  not  consider  it  otherwise — was  well  on 
its  way  to  the  great  Drakensbergen;  and  his 
prayers,  or  rather  that  dear  Martha's,  had 
prevailed  in  every  particular  to  his  best  advan- 
tage. With  a  great  gratitude  swelling  La  his 
heart,  he  turned  his  horse  northward  into  the 
veldt,  heading  for  the  broad  forest  that  he 
knew  reached  north  as  far  as  the  Mooi  River, 
thirty  miles  away,  and  lay  fan-shaped  between 
the  two  lines  of  railroad  that  ran  toward  Est- 
court  and  toward  Greytown,  respectively.  He 
had  the  map  of  central  and  northern  Natal 
deeply  graven  hi  his  mind.  It  was  not  for 
nothing  that  he  had  spent  so  many  weary 
months  hi  prison  with  men  who  had  lived  over, 
travelled  over,  fought  over,  the  country  that 
he  now  had  to  traverse.  He  knew  that  he 
would  have  to  push  hard  forward  to  reach 
the  concealment  of  the  forest  before  day  should 
116 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

break,  perhaps  to  betray  him.  So,  once  well 
in  the  veldt  and  at  a  long  right  angle  to  the 
road  he  had  come,  he  dismounted  -again  from 
his  horse,  loosened  the  girths,  shifted  the  sad- 
dle, and  rubbed  the  still  heaving  animal  down 
as  thoroughly  as  he  could  with  long  bunches 
of  dry  kwitch  grass.  Ten  minutes  of  ac- 
tive treatment  produced  a  very  evident  and 
beneficial  effect  on  his  four-legged  companion, 
add  Danie  felt  that  he  could  safely  put  him  to 
the  task  before  them. 

With  no  path,  no  track  to  follow,  he  rode 
onward  with  assurance,  guided  only  by  the 
ever  friendly  stars.  The  Drie  Koning  (Three 
Kings)  and  the  Seven  Stars — friends  of  old — 
gave  him  his  direction.  Now  and  then  he 
rode  up  against  a  wire  fence,  or  his  pony  brought 
up  short  before  a  donga  (canyon),  and  he 
would  have  to  waste  time  and  strength  in 
going  around  each  to  avoid  it.  But  his  little 
steed  was  strong  and  swift. 

So  absorbed  was  Danie  in  every  detail  of  his 
dark  ride,  so  full  was  his  mind  of  the  excitement 
of  his  escape,  that  the  long  night  passed  before 
117 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

he  dreamed  it  was  half  over.  When  the  daylight 
broke,  he  saw  the  longed-for  forest  a  mile  or 
more  to  the  left.  He  was  in  an  open  plain,  and 
the  mists  of  morning  were  rising  to  reveal  him 
to  any  one  who  might  be  within  sight  as  an  in- 
strument of  fate.  Urging  his  tired  but  willing 
mount  to  a  more  rapid  pace,  he  entered  the 
edge  of  the  secure  woods  just  as  the  sun  rose. 
He  rode  into  the  pines  for  a  short  distance, 
and  hitched  his  horse  at  the  bottom  of  a  little 
gully,  whence  he  ran  back  to  the  edge  of  the 
woods  and  painfully  climbed  the  tallest  tree 
he  could  find,  so  that  he  could  overlook  the 
country  of  his  approach  for  miles.  The 
mounting  sun  lighted  brightly  a  larger  and 
larger  expanse  of  veldt;  but,  save  for  the 
morning  smoke  rising  from  the  kraals  of  a 
native  village  on  the  far  horizon,  it  shone  upon 
no  life  or  signs  of  life  that  he  could  see.  It 
was  evident  that  he  was  not  pursued  as  yet. 
After  a  full  half-hour  of  discomfort  and  reas- 
surance combined,  he  climbed  as  painfully 
down  from  his  watch-tower,  and  made  his 
way  back  to  where  he  had  left  his  companion. 
118 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

He  proceeded  to  cut  an  armful  of  grass,  and, 
after  watering  and  feeding  the  faithful  animal, 
he  off-saddled,  and  sat  down  on  the  ground  to 
search  the  saddle-bags.  To  his  delight  he 
found  three  tins  of  forced  rations  and  some 
dry  biscuits,  besides  a  field-flask  nearly  full 
of  whiskey  and  a  package  of  cigarettes.  This 
provision,  added  to  what  had  been  put  into 
his  own  pockets  by  Mrs.  Maritz,  would  suffice 
'him  for  several  days  under  stress.  "And, 
if  I  cannot  raise  more  for  myself  when  I  need 
it,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  then  I  am  no  true  Boer, 
or  there  are  no  Kaffirs  in  this  country!"  And 
when  he  had,  like  a  true  friend  and  careful, 
seen  both  to  the  comfort  of  his  horse  and  his 
inner  man,  he  rolled  under  a  bush  and  slept 
for  hours  the  sleep  of  a  little  child. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  he 
awoke.  The  remainder  of  the  day  was  passed 
restlessly.  He  groomed  and  rubbed  his  horse 
until  it  looked  as  smooth  and  bright  as  a  new 
toy,  until  its  quivering  muscles  looked  and 
felt  fit  to  do  the  last  night's  journey  twice 
over.  He  examined  and  unloaded  and  reloaded 
119 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  three  revolvers — the  pair  he  had  found 
in  the  saddle-holsters  and  the  one  given  him 
by  the  Maritzes — until  he  was  afraid  of  wearing 
them  out.  He  restowed  his  provisions  about 
his  own  person  to  the  most  compact  advan- 
tage. He  climbed  his  tree  again  and  again  to 
take  observations.  At  dusk  he  remounted 
with  a  sigh  of  relief,  and  resumed  his  flight. 
The  forest  soon  grew  thinner,  the  trees  stood 
farther  and  farther  apart,  and  he  seemed  to 
be  coming  to  an  opening.  He  was  more  ner- 
vous than  he  had  been  before.  Dim  shapes  of 
rocks,  shadowy  stumps  of  trees,  rose  suddenly 
and  threateningly  out  of  the  gloom  ahead  to 
bar  his  passage.  Unsubstantial  faces  seemed 
to  peer  at  him  from  behind  the  trees  that  bor- 
dered his  road.  Mournful  and  invisible  owls 
hooted  at  him  from  their  hiding-places  from 
time  to  time,  yet  in  hushed  tones,  as  if  they 
feared  to  bring  their  night  persecutors  upon 
them.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  Danie  when  after 
half  an  hour  he  emerged  through  the  edges  of 
the  wood  into  the  open  veldt  again.  The  sun 
was  just  disappearing,  but  so  dark  had  been 
120 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  forest  that  he  seemed  to  be  emerging  from 
night  into  day.  A  little  distance  ahead  was 
a  Kaffir  kraal.  He  rode  toward  it,  but  as  soon 
as  he  approached  he  saw  that  it  was  old  and 
deserted,  and  overgrown  with  kwitch  grass. 
He  passed  on.  Riding  up  a  little  rise,  he  saw 
ahead  of  him  another  kraal,  and  the  smoke 
rising  dimly  into  the  evening  air  showed  that 
it  was  inhabited.  Trusting  in  his  disguise 
arid  in  the  extreme  improbability  of  these 
forest-dwelling  natives  having  heard  of  his 
escape,  he  resolved  to  visit  them  and  make 
inquiries  as  to  the  country  and  its  inhabi- 
tants. He  might  possibly  hear  of  some  friendly 
farmer  who  could  help  him. 

Taking  the  bull  by  the  horns,  he  rode  in  an 
open  and  careless  manner  straight  across  the 
veldt  to  the  village,  and  halted  by  the  thorn 
gate  of  the  cattle  kraal,  where  the  Induna, 
or  village  chief,  sat  on  a  matjie  of  split  cane, 
with  his  subjects  grouped  around  him  in  a  circle. 
A  large  earthen  pot  of  oetjuala,  or  Kaffir  beer, 
stood  in  the  centre  of  the  circle;  and  the  na- 
tives, inflamed  by  the  liquor,  were  all  talking 
121 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  At 
Danie's  appearance  they  jumped  up  in  sur- 
prise. Silent,  they  looked  carefully  about, 
according  to  their  custom,  to  see  if  there  were 
any  more  strangers,  near  or  far.  Then,  throw- 
ing up  one  hand,  they  cried  unanimously, 
"Baihetti  N'Kosi!"  (Salute,  0  King!)  The 
Induna  stepped  forward. 

"Where  do  you  come  from,  Englishman?" 
he  asked. 

Danie  answered  him  in  the  native  tongue. 
"I  come  from  Tolemie,  and  I  am  looking  for 
a  prisoner  who  escaped  from  us  there.  Have 
you  seen  such  a  man?" 

"No,"  replied  the  head  man,  "no  one  has 
passed  here.  You  are  an  officer.  How  is  it 
that  you  travel  unattended?" 

"The  horse  of  my  servant  fell  and  hurt  him- 
self, and  he  had  to  return  to  Tolemie,"  answered 
Danie.  "But  it  is  getting  dark,  and  I  am 
going  to  Grey  town.  Tell  me  the  way,  and  if 
there  are  any  homesteads  near  by,  and  who 
are  the  owners  of  them." 

The  Kaffir  gave  a  long  and  detailed  descrip- 
122 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUB 

tion  of  the  road,  the  neighboring  farms  and 
their  owners.  Minutely  he  explained  who 
were  English  sympathisers  and  which  were 
friendly  to  the  Boers.  Then  he  called  the 
abafasie,  the  women  of  the  kraal,  and  ordered 
them  to  boil  some  eggs  for  the  travelling  Eng- 
lishman. Danie's  liberal  payment  was  re- 
warded by  a  calabash  of  rich  beer.  The  Kaf- 
firs questioned  him  as  to  the  state  of  the  war, 
wffti  unusual  interest  in  the  doings  of  their 
white  overlords.  But  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
tell  the  sham  British  officer,  much  to  his  secret 
delight,  that  they  were  surprised  that  the  Eng- 
lish took  so  long  about  it, — that  the  Boers  should 
by  this  time  have  all  been  killed. 

Danie  soon  took  his  departure,  and  rode 
swiftly  into  the  night.  It  had  become  quite 
dark.  Making  use  of  the  information  he  had 
received  and  avoiding  the  advice,  he  steered 
his  course  directly  north,  and  at  midnight 
under  a  bright  moon  crossed  the  Mooi  River 
by  an  easy  ford.  Stopping  a  few  moments  to 
rest  and  water  his  horse,  he  rode  on  without 
a  halt  or  even  a  serious  difficulty  until  the  break- 
123 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ing  day  showed  him  the  Tugela  River,  in  swift 
and  yellow  flight  toward  the  sea,  confronting 
him  with  the  dangers  of  its  passage  and  of 
the  daylight.  A  deep  kloof,  sparsely  fringed 
and  decked  with  wacht-een-bietje  bushes  and 
nooiensboomen,  offered  him  the  seclusion  he 
desired  until  nightfall.  Between  sleeping  and 
watching  the  Tugela  Ferry,  near  which  he 
found  himself,  he  passed  the  day  undisturbed 
and  in  comparative  comfort. 

He  waited  until  darkness  was  complete  be- 
fore he  ventured  to  cross  the  Tugela  by  the 
ford  at  the  ferry,  and  he  did  not  draw  an  even 
breath  until  he  had  left  the  road  for  the  bush 
on  the  north  bank  and  was  well  out  of  sight 
of  the  line  of  honest  travel.  His  horse's  con- 
dition was  becoming  a  matter  of  great  anxiety 
to  him.  The  poor  animal,  its  head  hanging, 
its  ears  dropped  almost  as  low  as  a  dog's,  re- 
fused longer  to  answer  to  the  impatience  of 
its  rider,  who  himself,  when  he  told  himself 
the  truth,  was  feeling  faint  both  from  hunger 
and  weariness.  But  he  was  constrained  to 
dismount  and  lead  his  horse,  notwithstanding 
124 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  own  languor.  He  kept  up  his  spirits  by 
continually  estimating  and  recounting  the 
miles  that  measured  the  distance  between  him 
and  his  prison,  that  lay  between  him  and  his 
country.  He  believed  himself  out  of  Natal 
proper  and  in  Zululand,  east  of  the  Buffalo 
River.  For  was  not  the  junction  of  the  Mooi 
with  the  river  of  battles  far  to  the  eastward 
of  where  the  Buffalo  emptied  its  brighter 
waters  gathered  from  the  Transvaal  mountains 
into  the  muddy  Tugela?  He  was  sure  of  it. 

All  that  night  he  plodded  along,  as  sore- 
footed  as  his  horse,  sparing  himself  no  more 
than  he  did  his  unfortunate  companion.  He 
was,  toward  morning,  so  worried  about  the 
state  of  the  poor  beast  that,  had  it  been  pos- 
sible, he  would  have  put  the  saddle  on  his 
own  back  and  carried  the  horse.  He  laughed 
at  the  idea,  but  he  sighed  as  he  thought  of 
what  might  happen  if  the  brute  should  not 
recover  some  sort  of  condition.  He  watched  its 
irregular  heaving,  its  almost  blindly  stumbling 
steps,  with  a  fear  more  selfish  than  compas- 
sion. 

125 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Where  he  was  when  the  dawn  broke,  he  could 
not  guess.  He  only  knew  that  he  had  held 
a  generally  northern  course,  that  he  had  fol- 
lowed the  friendly  stars,  and  that  he  had  kept 
moving.  The  day  was  spent  mostly  in  worry 
and  anxiety.  He  could  not  sleep.  The  un- 
happy horse  would  not  eat.  This  ominous 
sign  frightened  Danie  the  more.  He  used 
every  effort  that  suggested  itself  to  his  now 
unusually  resourceful  mind.  He  cast  the  tired 
animal,  washed  it,  rubbed  it,  blew  some  of  his 
precious  whiskey  into  its  red  nostrils,  all  with- 
out apparent  effect.  It  made  no  attempt  to 
rise,  it  consistently  refused  to  eat.  Neverthe- 
less, at  dusk  he  dragged  it  desperately  to  its 
feet,  and  with  the  saddle  on  his  own  shoulders 
started  on  again,  dragging  the  weary  animal 
by  the  bridle  behind  him.  A  few  hundred 
yards  from  the  place  where  he  had  lain  by  that 
miserable  day,  he  came  to  a  road,  and,  cross- 
ing the  road,  he  nearly  ran  into  a  small  native 
hut  of  grass,  so  concealed  by  its  shape,  its  ma- 
terial, and  its  color  that  it  stood  almost  invisi- 
ble from  the  highway. 

126 


UNDER  'THE    VIERKLEUR 

Reckless  of  arousing  either  fear  or  suspicion, 
he  called  loudly  at  its  low  entrance.  A  soli- 
tary Kaffir  came  forth,  and  gazed  stupidly  at 
him,  but  with  a  little  gleam  in  his  narrow  eyes 
to  prove  that  he  took  in  all  he  saw.  Danie 
demanded  arrogantly  enough  a  description  of  his 
whereabouts  and  the  condition  of  the  country- 
side, and  got  it.  He  learned,  to  his  horror, 
that  he  was  near  the  little  hamlet  of  Doug- 
la*~hi  the  Pomeroy  district,  many  miles,  as  he 
knew,  to  the  west  of  the  Buffalo  River  and  al- 
most in  the  heart  of  northern  Natal.  He  could 
barely  conceal  his  disappointment  and  anger. 

"Yes,  baas,"  continued  the  Kaffir,  watching 
him  closely;  "but,  if  you  are  lost  and  your 
horse  is  tired,  you  will  be  able  to  go  to  Baas 
Hockley's  farm.  He  is  a  good  Englishman, 
and  is  very  fond  of  English  soldiers.  And  he 
lives  but  six  miles  up  the  road  and  in  the  veldt 
to  the  left.  He  will  be  glad  to  see  you." 

Danie  was  desperate.    He  decided  to  go  to 
Hockley's,  and  bluff  it  out.     "Will  you  guide 
me  there?"  he  demanded.     "I  will  give  you 
two  shillings  for  the  service." 
127 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  little  Kaffir  grinned,  and  threw  his  hands 
into  the  air. 

"Go  on,  baas,"  he  said.  "You  cannot  miss 
it.  It  is  a  great  kraal."  And  he  disappeared 
behind  the  hut  into  the  darkness. 

The  unhappy  Boer  lost  his  temper  completely, 
and  shouted  curses  after  the  black.  But  the 
only  answer  he  got  was  a  mocking  laugh  out 
of  the  night.  He  dragged  on  for  another  hope- 
less, painful  mile,  and  then  the  poor  horse 
stumbled  and  fell.  When  his  master  pulled 
him  to  his  reluctant  feet,  he  absolutely  refused 
to  take  another  step.  Danie  had  to  give  it 
up.  He  dropped  the  reins  and  fell  himself 
to  the  ground,  where  he  wrapped  himself  in 
his  cloak  and  slept. 

He  did  not  wake  until  bright  daylight.  For 
a  moment  he  lay  dreamily  gazing  up  into  a 
blue,  unclouded  sky.  Then  suddenly  recol- 
lection returned  to  him,  and  he  started  up  in 
a  great  fear  and  looked  about  him.  Lo  and 
behold!  the  horse  was  on  his  feet  at  a  little 
distance,  and  cropping  the  short  grass  vig- 
orously. 

128 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE  sun  was  a  good  hour  high  when  Danie, 
still  leading  his  now  partially  recu- 
perated steed,  followed  the  half-obliterated  road 
over  a  little  randt,  or  rise,  and  saw  lying  in  the 
valley  before  him  the  pretty  farmstead  he  knew 
must  be  Hockley's.  Beyond  the  kraals  lay 
the  chief  farm  buildings, — a  large  white  house 
wfEh  a  roof  of  glistening  galvanized  iron,  a 
wagon-house,  a  stable.  The  cattle  and  the 
sheep  were  leaving  the  kraals  for  the  veldt, 
moving  slowly  toward  his  right  in  a  long,  single 
line.  As  he  approached,  he  could  see  the 
barn-yard  fowls  swarming  about  the  kitchen 
door,  at  the  opening  of  which  stood  an  old 
woman  in  a  pinafore,  feeding  them  from  a 
shaking  pan.  He  could  hear  her  high,  cracked 
voice  calling,  "Kip,  kip!  Kip,  kip!"  to  the 
stragglers,  who  were  pitching  greedily  and 
hastily  along  the  path  that  led  from  the  kraals. 
For  a  brief  instant  Danie  hesitated.  But 
he  had  to  put  a  bold  face  on  the  matter.  So 
he  concealed  all  traces  of  his  trepidation  under 
129 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

an  air  of  complete  assurance,  and  moved  briskly 
on.  As  he  appeared  around  the  kraal  wall, 
the  old  woman  in  the  kitchen  door  saw  him, 
and  stopped  her  task  to  watch  him  with  shaded 
eyes.  A  little  Kaffir  boy,  who  was  engaged 
in  separating  the  calves  from  the  cows  in  their 
line  of  march,  ran  back  when  he  saw  the  ma- 
sodga  (soldier),  and  cried  out  his  approach  to  his 
mother,  who  was  stamping  mealies  by  the  kraal 
gate.  The  old  woman  at  the  door  dropped 
her  pan,  and  screamed  out  to  the  boy, — 

"  Run,  limb,  and  tell  the  old  baas  somebody  is 
coming." 

The  little  black  fellow  ran  around  to  the 
front  of  the  house,  and  shouted  in  broken 
English,  mixed  with  Dutch  and  Zulu, — 

"Ou  baas!    Here  he  come,  een  masodga!" 

Danie  was  now  so  close  upon  the  heels  of  his 
announcer  that  he  could  hear  the  answer. 

"Well,  let  the  masodga  come.  You  baleka 
keta  ama  n'koujane"  (run  back  and  separate 
the  calves). 

Danie  turned  the  corner,  and  stood  in  front 
of  the  house.  The  little  Kaffir  boy  ran  past 
130 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

him,  looking  back  at  him  over  his  shoulder, 
and,  when  he  was  at  a  safe  distance,  he  called 
out  to  the  soldier  a  native  greeting,  "  Sakoebona 
indoda." 

"Ewe,  mfaan"  (yes,  boy),  replied  Danie, 
smiling  as  he  halted  in  front  of  the  stoep. 

The  master  of  the  house  was  seated  in  a 
comfortable  chair,  with  a  lap  full  of  papers, 
one  of  which  he  held  open  in  his  hand.  Be- 
"side  him  on  the  floor  lay  a  number  of  unopened 
letters,  magazines,  and  other  small  packages; 
for  the  Kaffir  runner  had  just  brought  in  the 
mail  of  the  last  three  weeks.  He  looked  in- 
quiringly over  his  spectacles  at  the  new-comer. 

"Good-morning,  sir,"  said  Danie,  touching 
his  hat. 

The  old  gentleman  took  off  his  spectacles, 
put  them  carefully  into  a  case,  pushed  his  old 
"hard  hitter"  back  on  his  otherwise  scantily 
protected  head,  and  rose  slowly. 

"Good-morning,  good-morning,"  he  replied, 
and  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  stoep,  where 
he  stopped  in  a  characteristic  English  pose, 
looking  down  at  the  man  before  him. 
131 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Good-morning,"  he  repeated.  "I  can't 
ask  you  to  dismount,  as  you  have  done  so; 
but  won't  you  off-saddle?  Your  horse  looks 
all  knocked  up.  You  must  have  come  a  long 
distance,  Captain — Major — ?  I  don't  know 
anything  about  these  new-fangled  mud-col- 
oured uniforms  and  little  buttoned  straps  in- 
stead of  epaulettes.  They  used  to  have  some- 
thing decent  in  my  time,  sir,  for  a  soldier  and 
a  gentleman  to  wear.  I  dare  say  these  damned 
Boers  would  have  been  beaten  out  of  the  coun- 
try by  now  if  we  had  the  old  soldiers,  the  old 
Englishmen,  the  old  red  coats  we  used  to  have. 
You  younger  men  are  a  degenerate  lot,  and 
your  war  is  as  bad  as  you  are.  What  did  you 
say  your  name  was,  sir?"  He  stopped  to 
take  a  well-earned  breath,  and  puffed  silently 
with  inflamed  cheeks  and  eyes.  The  "degen- 
erate lot"  before  him  seized  the  opportunity. 

"My  name  is  Ainslee,  Captain  Ainslee  of 
the  Intelligence  Staff;  and  I  lost  my  way  last 
night  between  Othello  and  Pomeroy.  My 
moke  is  done,  as  you  see;  and  I  felt  in  need 
of  a  little  hospitality  myself,"  he  said,  smiling. 
132 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"I  am  on  my  way  to  the  Melmoth  district  to 
inquire  into  some  cases  of  treachery  reported 
from  there,"  he  added. 

"Come  right  up  and  sit  down,"  said  the  old 
farmer,  and  roared  for  Jantjie,  the  stable  boy. 

Danie  accepted  the  invitation,  and  left  his 
horse  standing.  He  hastened  to  tell  his  host 
that  one  of  his  objects  was  to  get  a  fresh  horse 
^either  by  exchange  or  by  purchase;  "for," 
he  explained,  "you  can  see  for  yourself  that 
I  never  could  reach  Pomeroy  with  this  poor 
brute  to-day,  and  I  cannot  wait  over.  I  am 
on  strict  orders." 

"All  right,  my  boy,"  answered  Mr.  Hockley. 
"I  shall  be  delighted  to  assist  one  of  Her  Ma- 
jesty's officers  in  any  way  possible."  And, 
as  Jantjie  came  slowly  up  to  the  stoep,  he  or- 
dered him  to  take  Captain  Ainslee's  horse  to 
the  stable,  off-saddle,  bring  the  officer's  saddle 
and  effects  back  to  the  stoep,  and  with  them 
the  rooi  schimmel  (horse)  for  the  officer  to 
examine. 

"I  am  a  true  subject  of  my  Queen,"  he  con- 
tinued pompously,  "and  I  should  hesitate 
133 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

at  no  sacrifice  that  would  assist  in  quelling 
those  damned  rebels  in  the  Republics.  Excuse 
me,"  he  said,  turning  again  to  his  guest,  "what 
did  you  say  your  name  was,  Captain?" 

"Ainslee,  sir,"  replied  Danie. 

"Ah!  that's  a  good  old  English  name.  But 
you  speak  with  an  accent.  How  is  that,  may 
I  ask?" 

The  embarrassed  Boer  answered  as  coolly 
as  he  could : — 

"My  father  married  a  German  lady,  and  he 
died  when  I  was  only  six  years  old.  Then 
I  and  my  mother  lived  with  her  parents  until 
I  was  sent  to  Cambridge,  where  I  learned  my 
English  over  again." 

"  I  see,  I  see,— of  course,"  said  the  old  farmer. 
"Where  were  you  born?" 

Danie  would  have  collapsed  under  this  cross- 
examination,  had  he  not  in  some  measure  pre- 
pared for  it.  Even  now  he  was  surprised  at 
his  powers  of  invention. 

"I  was  born  at  Cedarville,  near  Kockstad, 
in  Griqualand  East." 

"Ah!  down  near  Pondoland,"  said  hie  host. 
134 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Yes,"  answered  Danie,  shortly.  "How 
beautifully  up  your  country  is  here.  It  looks 
as  well  as  any  I  have  seen  anywhere  in  north- 
ern Natal." 

The  old  Colonial  smiled  at  the  compliment, 
but  was  not  to  be  turned  from  his  subject. 

"Yes,  I  do  very  well  here,  Captain.  Let  us 
see,  Cedarville  is  the  Dutch  settlement,  where 
old  Adam  Kock,  the  Griqua  king,  gave  them 
fand  to  his  own  detriment,  isn't  it?" 

Danie  looked  at  him  suspiciously.  "I  be- 
lieve so,"  he  returned.  Was  he  himself  sus- 
pected? Did  the  old  villain  doubt  him? 

Hockley  finally  changed  the  subject  himself. 
"Tell  me  just  how  the  war  is  progressing,  Cap- 
tain. Better,  isn't  it,  since  Buller  learned 
his  lesson  at  the  Tugela?" 

Danie  detailed  as  much  of  the  latest  English 
war  news  as  he  knew.  He  had  had  enough 
opportunity  of  gathering  this  news  from  Eng- 
lish sources,  even  up  to  the  very  day  of  his 
escape.  While  listening  to  his  companion,  Mr. 
Hockley  opened  and  glanced  over  the  papers 
that  he  had  not  as  yet  read  and  what  facts  the 
135 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

visitor  and  the  papers  had  in  common,  the 
latter  so  thoroughly  agreed  with  and  substan- 
tiated that  the  young  Boer  was  quite  confirmed 
in  his  host's  confidence  as  the  English  officer 
he  represented  himself  to  be. 

The  old  woman  of  the  kitchen  door  now 
joined  the  two  men  on  the  stoep.  Without 
rising,  Mr.  Hockley  pointed  to  her,  and  said: 
"Captain,  this  is  my  old  vrouw.  Mary,  this 
is  Captain  Ainslee,  with  a  tired  horse  and  an 
empty  stomach." 

She  mumbled  something,  and  they  shook 
hands.  The  old  farmer  rose. 

"Breakfast  is  ready,"  he  said,  and,  waving 
the  "Captain"  before  him,  followed  his  wife 
into  the  house. 

The  hungry  Boer's  satisfaction  at  the  good 
food  set  before  him  was  complete.  His  spirits 
rose  many  degrees  before  he  came  out  of  the 
house  onto  the  stoep  with  his  hearty  host. 
But  they  fell  as  suddenly,  as  his  host  addressed 
him. 

"Here    is    the    horse,    Captain.    Now    let's 
talk  about  the  bargain." 
136 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Bargain!  What  did  that  mean?  The  horse 
was  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  stoep. 
It  was  an  ordinary  African  pony,  fourteen  hands 
high,  and  in  fair  condition,  but  thin  with  age. 
The  farmer  called  a  general  attention  to  its 
many  "points"  with  a  wave  of  his  hand. 
Danie  could  see  for  himself  they  were  many. 
Its  hip-bones  stuck  out  like  those  of  a  clothes- 
Ijprse.  Over  its  eyes  were  knobs  so  prominent 
that  Danie  remarked  jocularly,  from  some  points 
of  view  one  might  mistake  tlje  horse  for  a  rhi- 
noceros. He  opened  the  animal's  mouth  to 
find  teeth  almost  as  long  as  his  fingers.  The 
brute  must  be  as  old  as  his  master.  But  what 
choice  had  he? 

"Well,  Mr.  Hockley,"  he  said  with  a  laugh, 
"if  that  is  the  best  you  can  do,  I  will  leave 
you  my  other  horse,  and  take  two  pounds  to 
boot." 

The  patriotic  farmer  regarded  him  coldly. 
"The  horse  is  well  worth  twenty  pounds,"  he 
said,  "and  I  could  not  afford  to  take  less  for 
him,  especially  from  the  government,"  he 
added  significantly.  "I  will  keep  your  own 
137 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUB 

horse  here  for  you  as  a  favour  until  you  can 
call  or  send  for  him.  Otherwise  you  can  take 
him  with  you." 

Danie  bit  his  lip.  "Very  well,"  he  said 
finally,  "  I  will  give  you  an  order  on  the  provost- 
marshal  at  Pietermaritzburg  for  the  amount. 
You  can  send  the  other  horse  to  him  as  soon 
as  it  can  travel." 

"That's  a  difficult  proposition,"  said  Mr. 
Hockley,  slowly,  digging  into  the  soil  with  the 
point  of  his  boot.  "  I  want  twenty  pounds  for 
the  horse,  and  to  take  an  order  is  to  take  end- 
less bother.  It  takes  too  much  red  tape  and 
ceremony  to  get  any  money  out  of  the  govern- 
ment." 

Danie  hesitated  no  longer.  He  thought  he 
saw  a  way  out  of  his  difficulties.  He  raised 
the  saddle  from  the  ground  without  a  word  and 
put  it  on  the  back  of  the  twenty-pound  horse, 
bridled  it,  and  mounted  it.  Then  he  took  a 
note-book  out  of  his  pocket  and  tapped  it  with 
his  fingers. 

"You  know  what  the  word  'commandeer' 
means,  do  you  not,  Mr.  Hockley?"  he  said  to 
138 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  astonished  farmer.  "It  means  a  lot  more 
bother  and  red  tape  than  a  simple  order.  Now 
a  man  of  your  loyalty  ought  not  to  hesitate  for 
a  moment  between  the  two." 

Mr.  Hockley  did  not  hesitate  even  the  mo- 
ment. He  accepted,  ungraciously  enough,  the 
order  Danie  willingly  made  out  for  him,  and 
proceeded  to  give,  according  to  the  universal 
custom,  a  minute  description  of  the  roads  both 
north  and  south,  with  particulars  as  to  the 
farms  and  homesteads,  the  inhabitants  and 
their  sympathies. 

Just  as  our  hero  was  taking  his  departure, 
Mrs.  Hockley  ran  out  of  the  house  with  a  slip 
of  paper  in  her  hand,  and  handed  it  to  her 
husband.  He  glanced  at  it. 

"Magtie!  Captain,"  he  cried,  "stop,  and 
listen  to  this!"  And  he  laid  his  hand  carelessly 
on  the  horse's  nose  while  he  read  the  slip  aloud. 

"It  is  from  the  Umzinto  Observer,"  he  said. 
"Listen.  'Last  Friday  night  a  Boer  prisoner 
of  war,  a  daring  and  important  officer  who  was 
wounded  and  captured  at  the  battle  of  Dundee, 
escaped  in  some  mysterious  manner  from  the 
139 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Prison  Hospital  at  Pietermaritzburg.  Hospital 
nurses  and  sentries  are  suspected,  and  have  been 
put  under  arrest.' "  Then  followed  a  vivid  de- 
scription of  the  escaped  prisoner,  giving  his 
name,  and  stating  that  he  wore  a  full  beard 
according  to  the  usual  Boer  custom,  and  that 
his  eyes  and  hair  were  brown. 

"Magtie!"  said  the  farmer  again,  "I  almost 
thought  for  a  minute  I  had  the  escaped  prisoner 
in  my  hands,  Captain.  It  would  have  gone 
hard  with  him,  I  tell  you." 

Danie's  blue  eyes  snapped,  but  he  laughed 
merrily.  "  Give  me  the  slip,  Mr.  Hockley,  or  a 
copy  of  it.  I  may  run  across  the  man  some- 
where myself.'* 

"Take  it,  take  it,"  answered  the  old  man,  and 
thrust  it  into  his  hand.  "  But  you  will  not  get 
him,"  he  continued  sadly,  "for  the  Natal  Dutch 
are  all  unfaithful ;  and  they  will  aid  the  man,  so 
that  he  will  get  through  into  the  Transvaal  for 
certain.  I  know  them!"  His  face  flamed  with 
anger,  and  he  shook  his  fist  heavily  in  the  air. 

Dame  rode  slowly  off  to  the  south-east  in  the 
direction  of  the  road  to  Pomeroy;  but,  as  soon 
140 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

as  he  was  well  out  of  sight  of  the  farm,  he  faced 
his  horse  northward,  and  followed  the  bridle- 
paths of  the  veldt  that  led  in  the  general  direc- 
tion he  was  making  for, — the  direction  of  the 
Transvaal  and  his  home. 

Making  vague  and  careful  inquiries  at  a  na- 
tive village  he  came  upon  during  the  afternoon, 
he  learned  that  some  ten  miles  further  up  the 
rgad  he  was  travelling  lay  the  farm  of  a  Mr. 
"fran  Rooyen,  a  Natal  Boer  and  a  suspected 
rebel.  He  found  soon  after  this  that  the  horse 
he  had  taken  from  Hockley  was  rapidly  break- 
ing down,  and  would  not  last  long.  So  he  de- 
cided to  push  on  as  fast  as  possible,  and  to  try 
to  reach  the  Van  Rooyen  farm  before  night. 
It  was  difficult  work.  He  was  entering  among 
the  foot-hills  of  the  eastern  Biggarsbergen. 
Riding  at  a  canter  over  the  more  level  ground 
and  falling  into  a  trot  where  it  grew  rougher, 
he  managed  to  cover  considerable  country  by 
the  time  the  sun  disappeared.  He  stopped  at 
a  small  Kaffir  kraal  to  ask  his  way  and  to  as- 
certain the  distance  that  yet  intervened  between 
him  and  his  destination.  But  the  headman 
141 


UNDER    THE    YIERKLEUR 

gave  him  an  unsatisfactory  answer  to  his 
question. 

"Koedeh,  noko  akkukudeh  kakalu,"  he  an- 
swered cheerfully.  "A  long  way  off  yet,  but 
still  not  so  very  far." 

Danie  shook  his  head  dubiously.  This  meant 
about  six  miles,  more  or  less.  Would  his  horse 
hold  out?  He  cursed  old  Hockley  heartily  for 
the  trick  he  had  played  on  him;  but  he  felt  some 
satisfaction  at  the  difficulty  his  patriotic  host 
would  encounter  when  he  should  present  the 
order  given  him  by  "Captain  F.  H.  Ainslee, 
Intelligence  Department." 

Handling  his  charger  as  gently  as  possible,  he 
pushed  energetically  on.  It  was  growing  very 
dark:  the  sky  was  clouding  up.  Once  he 
got  caught  in  a  moeras,  or  swamp,  out  of  which 
he  had  hard  work  to  extricate  either  himself 
or  his  steed.  Near  ten  o'clock  he  rode  into  a 
garden  fence,  and,  looking  about  him  in  sur- 
prise, saw  that  he  was  passing  by  the  side  of 
cultivated  fields.  Pulling  his  horse  down  to 
a  walk,  he  rose  in  the  stirrups  and  peered  sharply 
through  the  darkness.  Just  ahead  of  him  he 
142 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

could  make  out  a  denser  darkness  looming 
against  the  gloom  of  the  unlit  heavens,  and  at 
that  instant  a  dog  barked,  another  broke  in. 
He  turned,  and  followed  the  sound.  He  passed 
a  clump  of  trees,  just  distinguishable  in  the 
blackness,  a  stream  or  pond, — to  judge  from 
the  low  quacks  and  twitters  of  the  disturbed 
ducks, — and  suddenly  brought  up  almost  against 
the  stoep  of  a  large  house.  The  dogs  were  now 
so  fierce  that  he  dared  not  dismount.  While 
he  was  sitting  perplexed  in  his  saddle,  the  dogs 
doing  a  Hottentot  reel  around  him,  the  front 
door  opened,  and  a  man  with  a  great  beard, 
who  appeared  fully  seven  feet  tall,  stepped  out 
on  the  stoep,  a  lighted  candle  in  his  hand. 

"  Voetsek,  Bull ! ' '  The  dogs  obeyed  instantly, 
quieting  down  and  withdrawing  up  the  steps  of 
the  stoep  to  their  master's  side,  where  they  sat 
down  to  await  his  further  orders.  The  man 
shaded  his  eyes  from  the  light  he  carried,  and, 
looking  sharply  out  into  the  darkness,  called 
out  in  a  deep  voice,  "Who  is  there?" 

Danie  dismounted,  and  walked  half-way  up 
the  steps. 

143 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"  I  am  in  trouble,  and  my  horse  is  tired.  Are 
you  Dirk  Van  Rooyen?"  He  spoke  in  English. 

"I  am  Dirk  Van  Rooyen,  sure  enough,"  re- 
plied the  man  in  the  same  language.  "But 
what  difference  does  it  make  to  me  whether  or 
not  your  horse  is  tired?" 

Danie  credited  the  discourtesy  to  his  uniform, 
and  answered  in  Dutch. 

"  Oom  Dirk,  I  am  not  what  I  seem  to  be,  but 
a  good  Boer;  and  my  name  is  Danie  Linde.  To 
tell  the  truth,  I  have  escaped  from  Pieterma- 
ritzburg,  and  I  ask  your  help  as  an  Afrikander." 

"Fasten  your  horse  to  the  trellis,  and  come 
inside,"  said  Van  Rooyen,  shortly.  And  he 
led  the  way  into  a  front  room,  lighted  two  more 
candles,  and  pointed  to  a  seat.  He  scrutinised 
Danie's  appearance  with  manifest  uncertainty. 
The  dirty  khaki  uniform  he  wore,  his  sun- 
skinned  nose  and  ears,  the  military  saddle, 
tfhich  Van  Rooyen's  quick  eyes  had  noted  as 
soon  as  his  strange  visitor  had  dismounted, 
the  horse  itself,  were  all  eloquent  testimony 
against  his  words.  Van  Rooyen  was  deeply 
suspicious  of  his  visitor's  real  character.  The 
144 


UNDER    THE    V1ERKLEUR 

stool-pigeon,  trained  to  betray  a  man  into  the 
hands  of  the  law,  civil  or  military,  was  not 
an  unknown  bird  in  southern  Africa  at  the 
end  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Van  Rooyen,  after  a  long 
pause,  "  you  are  an  enigma.  I  am  in  the  middle 
of  the  world  with  you." 

^J  can  easily  see  that  you  doubt  me,  Oom 
Dirk,"  said  Danie.  "But  I  will  tell  you,— I 
can  show  you  the  wounds  I  received  at  Dundee 
in  October  of  last  year  when  I  was  captured." 
He  threw  open  his  tunic  and  shirt,  and  bared  the 
lance- wound,  just  healed  over.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded to  tell  all  about  his  escape,  and  how  he 
had  fooled  Mr.  Hockley. 

But  Dirk  Van  Rooyen  was  still  suspicious. 
"I  know  that  the  horse  you  are  riding  belongs 
to  Hockley,"  he  said,  "but  that  is  evidence 
that  goes  against  you.  We  Natal  Afrikanders, 
although  British  subjects,  are  all  suspected. 
The  English  farmers,  even  the  Kaffirs,  get  all 
their  privileges, — they  enjoy  an  uninterrupted 
postal  communication, — while  the  Afrikander 
145 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

letters  are  all  censored,  often  destroyed.  We 
are  not  allowed  to  receive  newspapers  or  war 
news  of  any  kind  except  when  doctored  from 
English  sources.  We  are  treated  like  rebels, 
though  we  are  not  rebels  and  do  not  intend  to 
be.  We  are  silent,  and  obey  the  laws.  It  is 
natural  that  I,  as  well  as  all  other  upright  Afri- 
kanders, should  sympathise  with  our  brothers 
in  the  Transvaal  who  are  struggling  for  their 
freedom;  for  there  is  the  bond  of  blood  between 
us.  But  we  have  not  rebelled.  My  riding 
horses — all  but  two — have  been  taken  by  the 
soldiers,  and  my  forage,  my  slaughter  oxen 
also.  They  have  tried  to  trap  me  more  than 
once,  to  get  me  to  do  something  that  would 
jail  me,  as  has  happened  to  so  many  Natal 
Boers.  How  am  I  to  know  that  you  are  not 
after  the  same  thing?  I  hear  your  story,  I  can 
see  your  wound;  but  that  is  not  satisfactory." 

"Now,"  said  Danie,  after  thinking  a  minute, 
"  kyk  [look],  Oom  Dirk."  He  opened  the  brace- 
let on  his  wrist.  "There  are  several  of  the 
Uys  family  living  along  the  Sunday  River,  not 
far  from  you.  This  is  a  portrait  of  Miss  Bettie 
146 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Uys,  of  Blaauwkop,  in  Ermelo.  Perhaps  you 
will  recognise  it.  To  her  I  was  to  have  been 
married  when  the  war  broke  out." 

"The  Uyses  of  Blaauwkop  are  related  to  us, 
and  I  know  old  Neef  [Cousin]  Dirk  well;  but 
his  children  I  have  not  seen  for  years,"  answered 
Van  Rooyen.  "My  son  Jan  visited  them  a 
year  ago:  he  may  know  the  person  of  whom 
that  is  the  portrait.  I  will  call  him."  And  he 
left  the  room  for  that  purpose. 

Jan  Van  Rooyen  followed  his  father  back 
into  the  room.  Taller  than  Danie,  straight, 
strong,  and  of  large  build,  and  well  dressed 
withal,  he  made  the  poor  fugitive  feel  his  un- 
pleasant position  keenly  and  bitterly  as  he 
looked  him  up  and  down  and  loosely  shook 
hands  with  him. 

"  Is  this  the  man  who  claims  to  be  an  escaped 
Boer  prisoner,  father?"  asked  Jan. 

"Yes,  boy.  He  says  his  name  is  Linde, — 
Danie  Linde.  He  has  a  portrait  to  show  you. 
Tell  me  who  it  is,  if  you  know  it." 

Danie  handed  over  the  portrait  with  a  burn- 
ing face.  Jan  glanced  sharply  at  him  as  he 
147 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

took  it  from  his  hand.    Then  he  bent  his  eyes 
to  the  portrait. 

"Why,  it  is  Bettie  Uys,  father,"  he  said  at 
once,  "and  this  bracelet, — I  remember  seeing 
it  on  her  arm."  He  jumped  up,  and  held  out 
both  hands  to  Danie.  "And  Mr.  Linde, — I 
have  often  heard  the  Uyses  talk  about  him, — 
this  is  certainly  he,  father." 

Dirk  Van  Rooyen  elbowed  his  great  offspring 
out  of  the  way  as  a  bull  might  push  aside  a 
yearling  steer,  and  laid  his  enormous  hands  on 
Danie's  shoulders. 

"Dear  God,  my  boy,"  he  thundered,  "this 
is  too  bad,  too  bad.  I  ought  to  have  known 
you  for  a  straight,  decent  Boer  before  I  could 
see  you  well  in  the  darkness;  but  I  didn't.  You 
will  see  why, — I  told  you  how  we  have  to  look 
out  in  this  cursed  country.  You, — Jan!  Take 
the  poor  kerel  [chap]  up  to  your  room,  and  give 
him  a  wash  and  a  decent  suit  of  clothes  at  once! 
Let  the  cursed  thing  he  is  wearing  be  thrown 
into  the  stove.  Turn  the  horse  loose,  and  let 
it  run  back  to  its  English  owner.  It  might 
betray  poor  Linde." 

148 


UNDEE    THE    VIERKLEUR 

He  was  still  talking  in  his  sympathetic  ex- 
citement when  the  young  men  left  the  room  to 
fulfil  his  behests. 

The  rest  of  the  family,  consisting  of  a  mother 
and  two  grown-up  daughters,  was  at  hand  to 
receive  Danie  when  he  came  down  with  Jan. 
He  was  once  more  dressed  like  a  respectable 
Afrikander;  and  his  clear  blue  eyes,  his  frank- 
ness of  countenance  and  manner,  did  as  much 
to  put  him  on  terms  of  intimate  friendship  with 
the  single-hearted  people  who  had  taken  him 
hi  as  did  his  unhappy  predicament  and  the  deep 
sympathy  it  and  his  cause  evoked  from  the 
charitable  and  hospitable  ex-Boers. 

With  her  own  hands  did  Mrs.  Van  Rooyen 
prepare  the  hungry  man  a  meal  so  ample  that 
all  of  them  could  not  together  have  eaten  it; 
and  the  girls  served  him, — he  could  scarcely 
turn  his  head  without  causing  a  flutter  such  as 
when  a  piece  of  bread  falls  into  the  midst  of  a 
flock  of  doves. 

Sleep  was  not  thought  of  until  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  And,  when  Danie  finally  went 
to  bed  in  the  room  with  Jan  Van  Rooyen,  he 
149 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

slept  the  sleep  of  the  just  and  the  very  tired 
until  nearly  noon. 

With  the  exception  of  an  old  half-caste  Hot- 
tentot of  long-approved  faithfulness,  the  ser- 
vants and  Kaffirs  of  the  Van  Rooyen  household 
were  not  informed  of  Danie's  presence  in  the 
house.  The  Kaffirs  of  northern  Natal  were 
almost  all  pro-English  in  their  sympathies,  and 
the  Afrikanders  dared  not  trust  them  with  any 
secrets  relating  to  the  Republics  or  the  Repub- 
lics' friends.  So  Danie  stayed  indoors  and  out 
of  sight;  and  old  Plaatje,  to  whom  alone  the 
secret  had  been  confided,  was  set  on  watch  to 
guard  the  inmates  of  the  house  against  any 
unwelcome  surprise. 

It  had  been  decided  that  Danie  should  start 
at  sunset,  and  Jan  was  to  accompany  him  some 
miles  on  his  journey,  and,  when  parting  with 
him,  to  leave  him  some  final  directions  as  to 
how  to  get  to  the  Nels  farm,  a  homestead  be- 
longing to  a  relative  of  the  Van  Rooyens  and 
a  true  Afrikander,  situated  high  in  the  moun- 
tains just  west  of  the  Buffalo  River.  Once 
across  this  stream,  the  escaped  prisoner  would 
150 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

be  in  comparative  safety,  and  could  make  his 
way  to  the  Vryheid  district  in  the  south-eastern 
Transvaal  with  little  difficulty  and  in  one  stage. 

The  sun  was  disappearing  below  the  western 
horizon.  The  family  was  gathered  in  a  large 
front  parlor  to  say  good-bye  and  God-speed  to 
the  fugitive,  when  suddenly  old  Plaatje  burst 
into  the  house,  and  cried  abruptly: — 

"jOu  baas!  By  the  big  wagon-road  from 
Baas  Hockley's  way  I  see  some  horsemen  com- 
ing! They  are  riding  hard,  the  dust  is  flying  in 
clouds  behind  them!  I  think  it  is  the  nongai 
(police)." 

Confusion  reigned  but  for  an  instant.  Van 
Rooyen's  presence  of  mind  dominated  the  rising 
terror  immediately. 

"Jan,  take  Danie  at  once  into  the  loft,  and 
conceal  him  near  the  ladder  that  runs  down  out- 
side, so  that  he  can  escape  there,  if  it  is  neces- 
sary. And  all  of  you  here  keep  perfectly 
calm.  You,  Plaatje,  be  very  careful;  for 
they  will  surely  cross-question  you." 

When  the  horsemen — five  policemen  and  two 
Kaffirs,  armed  to  the  teeth— raced  into  the 
151 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

werf,  there  on  the  stoep  sat  old  Van  Rooyen, 
buried  in  clouds  of  smoke  from  his  long  Dutch 
pipe,  looking  the  picture  of  calm  content.  The 
sergeant  rode  up  to  him,  and,  before  the  master 
of  the  house  could  even  say  good-evening,  ad- 
dressed him  excitedly. 

"Van  Rooyen,  last  night  an  escaped  Boer 
prisoner  dressed  in  one  of  our  uniforms  came 
to  this  house  with  one  of  Mr.  Hockley's  horses. 
The  horse  was  turned  back.  Where  is  the 
man?  Produce  him  at  once,  or  it  will  be  the 
worse  for  you!" 

Mr.  Van  Rooyen  removed  the  long  pipe  from 
his  mouth  and  blew  a  eloud  of  smoke  into  the 
air.  "Really,"  he  said,  "I  do  not  know  what 
you  are  talking  about." 

The  two  Kaffirs  had  by  this  time  been  to  the 
stables,  and  returned,  reporting  to  the  sergeant 
that  both  Van  Rooyen's  horses  were  there  in 
their  stalls.  This  seemed  to  ease  the  excited 
officer's  mind  a  little. 

"Will  you  produce  the  fugitive?  Or  shall 
we  have  to  compel  you?"  he  asked  more 
quietly. 

152 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Van  Rooyen  answered:  "It  seems  that  you 
want  a  man  from  me.  The  only  thing  that  will 
satisfy  you  that  I  haven't  got  him  is  to  look  for 
yourself:  only  I  beg  that  hi  the  search  you  don't 
turn  everything  hopelessly  upside  down."  And 
he  resumed  his  pipe. 

The  sergeant  regarded  him  malevolently. 
Then  he  ordered  his  satellites  to  commence  the 
search,  and  sat  down  himself  on  the  stoep  be- 
side Van  Rooyen. 

Danie  lay  frightened  and  still,  buried  under 
the  bundles  of  oat-hay  in  the  loft.  He  could 
hear  all  that  passed  beneath  him, — the  men 
tumbling  about  the  furniture,  the  slamming  of 
doors,  the  ejaculations  of  disappointment  that 
marked  the  progress  of  their  search.  Finally 
the  sounds  slackened,  and  at  last  ceased  in  the 
house.  The  last  door  slammed,  the  men  trooped 
back  to  the  sergeant  one  by  one.  Two, — three, 
— four, — and  one  Kaffir  with  hanging  head, — 
the  Van  Rooyens  drew  great  breaths  of  relief 
at  the  sight.  All  at  once  the  other  Kaffir  ap- 
peared round  the  corner  of  the  building,  a 
saddle  on  his  back.  His  face  was  wreathed  in 
153 


UNDER    THE    YIERKLEUR 

evil  smiles.  The  sergeant  jumped  up  and  ad- 
vanced to  meet  him,  wondering.  A  moment's 
colloquy  ensued  between  the  two,  and  the  offi- 
cer returned  with  the  saddle  to  Van  Rooyen, 
and  with  his  finger  pointed  out  the  broad  arrow, 
the  government  mark,  on  its  flap. 

"I  arrest  you  in  the  name  of  the  Queen — for 
high  treason!"  he  cried  in  a  voice  that  was  the 
voice  of  triumph. 

The  game  was  up.  Van  Rooyen  smiled  bit- 
terly, and  turned  his  eyes  upon  Jan  who  stood 
in  the  hall  just  behind  the  door.  Jan  took  his 
meaning,  and  slipped  up  the  stairs  unseen  to 
the  loft.  Five  words  were  enough.  Danie 
slipped  down  the  ladder  in  the  gathering  dusk, 
and  crawled  off  into  the  black-wattle-tree  and 
poplar  bush  behind  the  kraals  with  a  great  sad- 
ness in  his  heart,  while  Jan  went  noisily  down- 
stairs again  and  through  the  front  of  the  house 
to  give  himself  up,  and  to  hold  the  attention 
of  the  captors  until  the  important  game  was 
well  away. 

Darkness  alone  aided  the  unfortunate  fugi- 
tive to  make  good  his  flight  into  the  bush,  for 
154 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  tumult  caused  by  the  searchers  had  brought 
all  of  the  Kaffir  servants  out  of  their  huts. 

But  he  waited  in  the  gathering  gloom  of  the 
evening  behind  a  little  kopje  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  house  until  he  saw — and  with  what 
self-reproach! — his  too  kind  friends,  Dirk  and 
Jan  Van  Rooyen,  manacled  and  mounted  in 
the  midst  of  the  jubilant  group  of  police  and 
''blacks,  and  led  off  into  the  night  to  he  could 
not  guess  what  punishment,  while  the  three 
miserable  women  were  left  weeping  on  the  stoep 
of  their  lonely  house. 


155 


CHAPTER    XL 


ON  the  third  afternoon  from  that  on  which 
the  arrest  of  the  Van  Rooyens  took  place, 
a  man,  unkempt,  unshorn,  his  skin  and  the 
ragged  clothes  through  the  rents  of  which  it 
showed  caked  and  stained  with  dirt  and  rain, 
lay  quietly  in  the  grass  before  the  stoep  of  a 
farm-house  high  in  the  eastern  Biggarsbergen. 
Seated  on  his  haunches  beside  him,  every 
now  and  then  turning  an  attentive  eye 
upon  him,  was  a  large  black  and  white  Boer 
farm-dog.  The  dog  and  the  setting  sun  faced 
each  other.  The  man  lay  sprawled  partly  be- 
tween them,  partly  in  the  shadow  of  the  dog. 
Once  hi  a  while  the  man  moved  an  arm  or  a 
foot  or  laughed  or  groaned  slightly.  Whenever 
he  did  so,  the  dog  laid  back  his  ears  and  bared 
his  teeth.  But  this  meant  nothing  to  the  man. 
He  either  chuckled  again  or  babbled  a  few 
senseless  words.  Then  the  dog  was  puzzled. 
The  sun  seemed  to  set  more  slowly,  as  if  re- 
luctant to  miss  the  end  or  explanation  of  the 
scene;  but  it  finally  disappeared.  Within  a 
156 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

few  minutes  of  its  passing  a  man  and  a  boy 
rode  up  to  the  front  of  the  house,  followed 
by  two  Kaffir  servants,  to  whom  they  delivered 
their  horses  as  they  dismounted.  The  dog, 
urged  by  the  impulse  of  habit,  rose  to  run  for- 
ward and  greet  them,  but,  remembering  his 
charge  in  time,  stood  beckoning  them  with  his 
tail  and  ears  instead.  Upon  their  approach 
Ine  dog  surrendered  his  office  to  them  with 
manifestations  both  of  conceit  and  relief;  but 
the  men,  perhaps  because  of  their  astonishment 
at  having  so  serious  a  trust  so  abruptly  turned 
over  to  them,  paid  no  attention  to  his  blandish- 
ments. They  bent  over  the  stranger,  and  called 
to  him.  He  responded  only  with  an  incoherent 
mutter  and  a  smile.  They  grasped  him  by 
the  shoulders,  shook  him,  half  raised  him  to 
his  feet.  He  roused  himself  sufficiently  to  look 
past  them  with  eyes  that  seemed  to  see  clearly 
enough  beyond  the  mountains,  but  to  distin- 
guish nothing  within  their  range.  They  lifted 
him,  and  carried  him  into  the  house.  Laid  on 
the  bed,  he  did  not  wake  to  remember  or  nar- 
rate his  experiences  for  two  whole  days.  Fi- 
157 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

nally  and  fully  come  to  himself,  he  saw,  seated 
in  two  chairs  at  the  foot  of  his  bed,  a  man 
apparently  of  about  forty  years  and  a  boy  of 
about  sixteen,  each  regarding  him  gravely  over 
the  smoking  bowl  of  a  long  Dutch  pipe. 

As  soon  as  he  perceived  that  his  guest's  eyes 
were  rationally  open,  the  elder  man  removed 
the  pipe  from  his  mouth. 

"What  is  your  name,  kerel?"  he  asked  slowly. 

Danie — for  he  it  was — took  in  as  much  as 
he  could  of  the  situation  before  he  replied. 
He  sat  up  in  the  bed,  and  gazed  cautiously  at 
his  questioner,  around  the  room  with  its  re- 
assuring furniture  and  decorations,  and  out  of 
the  window  at  the  familiar  mountains.  "My 
name  is  Linde, — Danie  Linde,"  he  answered 
boldly  enough  at  last.  "But  where  am  I,  and 
who  are  you?" 

"My  name  is  Willem  Nels,"  responded  the 
other,  "and  this  is  my  farm." 

Danie  fell  back  on  his  pillow.  The  name  re- 
called to  his  mind,  as  if  its  utterance  had  been 
the  signal  for  the  lifting  of  a  curtain,  all  the 
events  that  had  so  far  followed  his  escape  from 
158 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Pietermaritzburg, — his  first  dash  for  freedom 
at  the  gates,  his  lonesome  ride  through  the 
forest,  the  winning  trick  that  he  had  played 
at  the  Hockley  farm,  and  the  misery  that  his 
presence  and  his  appeal  had  brought  down  upon 
the  faithful  Van  Rooyens.  Even  of  the  last 
three  days  he  could  recollect  the  more  vivid 
moments,  the  most  terrible  impressions.  He 
"remembered  how  he  had  fought,  and,  as  he 
thought,  finally  succumbed  to  his  hunger  and 
his  thirst,  his  weariness  and  his  fever;  how  foul 
faces  had  leered  at  him  from  behind  trees  and 
bushes;  how  mocking  shadows  and  siren  voices 
had  tried  to  lure  him  from  the  path  which  alone 
he  knew  to  be  safe;  how  animated  sticks  and 
stones,  over  which  he  had  stumbled  again  and 
again,  had  rolled  or  hobbled  ludicrously,  but 
remorselessly  ahead  after  every  fall,  and  lay  hi 
wait  beyond  the  next  turn  to  trip  him  once 
more;  how  the  path  itself,  angry  at  his  contin- 
ually treading  on  it,  had  squirmed  and  twisted 
beneath  his  feet,  and  at  tunes  narrowed  sharply 
into  nothingness,  just  to  betray  him  and  his  pur- 
\;  how  he  had  shrieked  at  it,  cursed  it,  fallen 
159 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

on  it,  grappled  with  it  tooth  and  nail,  stealthily 
followed  and  found  it  among  the  bushes  into 
which  it  had  slipped  to  escape  him;  how  the 
very  mountains  had  at  last  conspired  with  rend- 
ings  and  roarings  to  obstruct  his  passage;  how, 
giants  as  they  were,  they  had  shifted,  changed 
places  with  each  other,  danced  around  him 
like  phantoms  of  smoke  in  their  efforts  to  pre- 
vent his  penetration  into  their  mysteries. 

As  he  lay  thinking  of  all  these  strange  things, 
his  heart  beat  harder,  his  face  and  his  fingers 
began  to  twitch,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
he  brought  his  as  yet  but  half-rebalanced  mind 
back  to  a  sane  consideration  of  the  duties  and 
conditions  that  confronted  him. 

"  Oom  Willem,"  he  said,  raising  himself  once 
more  to  a  sitting  posture,  "  it  was  to  your  farm 
that  I  was  coming,  but  how  I  got  here  I  do  not 
know.  I  am  a  Boer  prisoner,  escaped  from 
Pietermaritzburg.  All  went  well  until  I  arrived 
at  the  farm  of  Dirk  Van  Rooyen,  your  relative, 
where  they  took  me  in  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness. Jan  was  to  accompany  me  part  of  the 
way  to  your  place ;  but  at  the  very  hour  set  for 
160 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

our  departure  the  police  came  upon  us,  and, 
while  I  got  safely  off  into  the  bush,  the  two 
Van  Rooyens  were  arrested  and  taken  away." 

Danie,  as  in  one  sense  the  author  of  the  Van 
Rooyens'  misfortunes,  looked  doubtfully  into 
the  face  of  their  relative  his  host,  as  he 
told  the  unpleasant  story.  But  Willem  Nels 
neither  doubted  nor  chided  him. 
-"That  was  not  your  fault,  Danie,"  he  said. 
"  So  let  us  not  speak  of  it  again.  But  we  must 
get  you  started  for  the  Transvaal  as  soon  as 
possible.  If  you  can  ride  by  to-night,  it  will 
be  best  for  you  to  do  so." 

Danie  rose  and  dressed  with  much  less  feeble- 
ness than  he  anticipated,  and  after  the  evening 
meal  announced  himself  as  fit  to  resume  his 
journey.  It  was  planned  that  he  should  leave 
the  Nels  farm  at  about  three  in  the  morning, 
so  as  to  cross  the  Buffalo  River  into  Zululand 
by  daybreak. 

At  the  appointed  hour  he  set  forth,  mounted 

on  a  strong  Trippelaar  pony,  the  son  of  his 

latest  host  acting  as  his  guide  through  the  passes 

to  the  river.    When  Danie  at  last  parted  from 

161 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  conductor,  the  great  Buffalo  River,  broad 
and  swollen  with  many  rains,  lay  before  him, 
the  rising  sun  opposite  just  beginning  to  brighten 
the  seething  waters  of  the  stream. 

He  hesitated  a  moment  on  the  brink.  He 
could  see  trunks  of  trees,  thatched  roofs  of  huts, 
sections  of  garden  palings,  now  and  then  a 
drowned  horse  or  cow,  go  floating  past  him 
southward  to  the  sea.  The  river  looked  as 
dangerous  as  it  did  uninviting,  yet  he  dared 
not  delay.  Behind  him  lay  Natal,  in  the  hands 
of  his  enemies.  Before  him  just  across  the 
river  lay  Zululand,  a  kind  of  Debatable  Land, 
fairly  free  from  his  foes,  fairly  close  to  his 
friends.  Peering  between  the  trunks  that  lined 
the  flooded  bank,  he  could  see  far  to  the  north- 
east, across  the  level  veldt  beyond  the  river, 
the  mountains  that  bordered  his  beloved  Trans- 
vaal. It  was  from  over  their  tops  that  the  sun 
lighted  up  the  world.  The  sight  transported 
him  with  enthusiasm.  He  drove  his  spurs  into 
the  sides  of  the  restive  pony,  and  leaped  between 
the  trunks  into  deep  water  almost  at  a  bound. 
The  little  animal,  as  astonished  as  his  master 
162 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

at  finding  himself  in  the  current  at  so  short 
notice,  threw  his  head  high  up  and  snorted  with 
fear.  Danie  slipped  from  his  back  into  the  cold 
water  beside  him,  and,  resting  one  hand  on  the 
pony's  shoulders,  spoke  to  him  in  a  cheering 
voice,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  keep  his  nose 
pointed  diagonally  across  the  river.  The  pony 
struck  out  manfully  at  first,  but  his  best  efforts 
oould  not  keep  him  straight.  The  current 
gradually  forced  him  round  until,  for  all  that 
the  tired  man  beside  him  could  do  to  prevent 
it,  he  was  being  carried  tail  first  down  the 
stream,  sinking  lower  and  lower  into  the  water 
at  every  repetition  of  the  frantic  but  ineffect- 
ual struggles  that  he  made  against  his  fate. 
They  were  now  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 
Danie,  though  thoroughly  exhausted  with  his 
own  efforts,  dared  no  longer  rest  any  of  his  own 
weight  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  weary  and 
agonised  animal.  So,  striking  out,  he  gained 
painfully  a  few  yards  up  stream,  and  seized  hold 
of  a  giant  tree-trunk  that  was  following  them 
directly  down.  He  had  hoped  first  to  relieve 
and  then  to  assist  the  pony  by  offering  him  a 
163 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

support  instead  of  a  burden;  but  the  loss  of  the 
touch  of  his  master's  hand,  light  though  it  was, 
seemed  to  deprive  the  brute  of  what  little  he 
still  possessed  of  hope  or  confidence  either  in 
man  or  nature.  He  lifted  his  head  with  a 
mournful  scream,  and  sank  without  further 
struggling  below  the  turgid  waters.  When  he 
reappeared,  it  was  with  feet  foremost. 

Danie's  situation  was  precarious.  Helpless, 
supported  by  the  piece  of  flotsam  which,  of 
itself  secure,  was  nevertheless  far  too  unstable 
for  its  passenger's  comfort  or  even  safety,  he 
was  being  hurled  southward  down  the  river  at 
a  rate  which  would  by  sunset  return  him  prac- 
tically to  the  very  gates  of  the  prison  from 
which  he  had  escaped  ten  days  before.  He 
had  been  in  the  water  two  hours.  He  began  to 
feel  what  he  feared  might  be  serious  effects 
from  the  long  cold  bath.  Cramps  seized  his 
legs,  and,  had  he  not  been  partially  supported 
by  a  submerged  branch  as  well  as  by  the  trunk 
across  which  his  arm  was  thrown,  he  would  have 
followed  his  horse  into  the  Elysian  fields  that 
lay  overflowed  by  the  stream. 
164 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Frightened  at  this  further  indication  of  his 
danger,  he  managed  to  draw  his  legs  out  of 
the  water  one  after  the  other,  and,  by  careful 
balancing,  to  maintain  a  position  on  the  tree- 
trunk  which,  although  both  difficult  and  un- 
dignified, was  productive  of  a  far  greater  de- 
gree of  warmth  and  comfort  than  he  had  as 
yet  enjoyed.  But  his  spirits  sank  deeper  and 
-*3eeper  as  he  watched  to  right  and  left  the  almost 
equally  distant  shores  move  northward  in  paral- 
lel procession.  He  knew  he  was  too  chilled,  too 
weak,  to  swim  to  either,  and  that  to  turn  his 
enormous  bark  out  of  the  middle  current  was 
a  task  more  impossible  still.  He  was  armed 
only  with  prayers,  and  with  these  he  bom- 
barded Heaven;  but  he  had  so  little  faith  in 
the  efficacy  of  such  pleas  for  preservation,  born 
of  the  exigencies  of  the  moment,  that  he  neither 
hoped  nor  expected  any  answer  to  their  fervour." 
In  fact,  he  kept  his  eyes  lowered  all  the  while 
and  fixed  upon  the  surging  stream  before  him, 
out  of  which  suddenly  rose  a  point,  a  bulk, 
an  island.  Even  before  he  reached  it,  he  saw 
that  the  current  of  the  river  divided  at  its 
165 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

upper  end,  and  swept  around  the  obstruction 
in  wide  curves  to  either  side, — two  tumbling, 
rock-broken  streams  of  swirl  and  drift.  Almost 
before  he  realised  what  was  happening,  his  un- 
stable craft  struck  a  sunken  snag,  careened, 
and  swung  heavily  around,  sinking  him  to  the 
middle  in  its  uneven  movement,  and  nearly 
causing  him  to  lose  his  hold  altogether.  He 
clambered  painfully  up  the  new  surface  pre- 
sented by  the  half-turned  log,  and  clung  to  its 
wet  excrescences  with  all  the  power  that  re- 
mained in  his  cramped  and  chilled  fingers. 
His  course  was  now  as  rough  and  erratic  as 
the  chafed  and  swollen  river,  fuming  at  find- 
ing an  obstacle  to  its  hitherto  unhampered 
progress,  could  well  make  it.  He  had  continu- 
ally to  guard  against  being  crushed  by  other 
trees  sweeping,  like  his  own,  down  the  river, 
against  losing  his  shaking  grip  when  some  great 
stone,  rising  raggedly  out  of  the  water,  opposed 
with  main  force  the  passage  of  his  unwieldy 
raft.  But  every  blow,  every  interruption, 
every  battle  between  these  monsters  of  the 
river,  was  forcing  him  nearer  to  the  left,  the 
166 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

eastern,  the  long-desired  bank  of  the  Buffalo. 
He  was  already  counting  the  number  of  blows 
it  would  take,  the  number  of  twists  and  turns 
his  craft  would  have  to  make,  before  he  would 
be  within  safe  swimming  or  even  leaping  dis- 
tance of  Zululand.  With  eager  eyes  he  watched 
the  space  decrease.  This  time  he  would  try 
it,— no,  it  was  hardly  possible,— but  now—! 
*X  sudden  and  unexpected  jar  caught  him  too 
delicately  balanced,  and  he  fell  headlong  into 
the  water  from  the  stern  of  his  impetuous  craft. 
Unnerved  by  the  shock,  he  sank  heavily,  to 
rise  again  nearer  to  the  shore,  but  just  in  time 
to  receive  in  his  side  the  full  impact  of  a  twenty- 
foot  log  plunging  straight  down  stream.  He 
was  rolled  over  and  driven  a  fathom  across  the 
water  before  he  sank  once  more,  gasping  for 
breath.  In  accordance  with  the  immemorial 
and  perhaps  significant  custom  of  the  drowning, 
he  threw  his  hands  above  his  head  as  he  began 
to  disappear  beneath  the  water.  As  he  did  so, 
his  right  hand  struck  forcibly  against  some  hard, 
rough  object,  his  wrist  was  immediately  caught 
as  if  in  a  vise,  and  he  hung  suspended  by  the 
167 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

arm,  for  a  moment  half  inanimate,  his  partly 
opened  lips  just  washed  by  the  passing  river. 
With  a  few  gasps  he  regained  strength  enough 
to  blow  his  nose  and  mouth  clear  of  the  strang- 
ling water  and  to  look  upward.  The  broken 
and  pointed  end  of  a  low  stout  branch  over- 
hanging the  edge  of  the  stream  had  passed 
between  his  arm  and  the  precious  bracelet  that 
he  wore,  to  intervene  between  him  and  death 
at  the  last  moment. 

With  a  fierce  effort,  Danie  managed  to  raise 
himself  so  as  to  seize  the  branch  with  his  left 
hand  and  drag  himself  painfully  to  the  shore, 
where  he  fell,  saved,  but  utterly  exhausted. 


168 


CHAPTER    XII. 


KR  a  long  time  the  half-drowned  man  lay 
here  he  had  fallen.  By  afternoon,  and 
when  the  wind  and  the  sun  had  thoroughly 
dried  and  warmed  him,  he  recovered  sufficient 
energy  to  drag  himself  to  a  place  of  conceal- 
ment amid  some  near-by  bushes,  where  he  in- 
tended to  remain  until  darkness  fell.  Toward 
sundown  he  was  aroused  by  a  sound  of  clumsy 
crashing  through  the  underbrush.  A  little 
Kaffir  boy  was  driving  a  dozen  lumbering  oxen 
to  water  at  the  edge  of  the  river.  In  his  hand 
the  boy  carried  a  small  pail,  which  Danie  knew 
must  contain  food  of  some  sort  for  the  driver's 
evening  meal.  The  very  sight  of  it  awakened 
a  wolf's  hunger  within  him,  and  he  puzzled  his 
brain  with  plots  for  getting  hold  of  it.  He  did 
not  wish  to  make  use  of  a  violence  that  might, 
for  all  he  knew,  stir  up  a  now  unsuspecting  sec- 
tion of  this  new  country  against  its  author. 
Nor  did  he  wish  to  betray  even  his  presence,  if 
it  were  in  any  way  possible  to  make  a  success 
of  the  seizure  without  doing  so.  He  half  rose 
169 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

to  his  feet,  and  carefully  noted  the  position  of 
the  animals  as  they  lined  up  at  the  water's 
brink.  Then,  dropping  to  his  hands  and  knees 
again,  he  stole  cautiously  through  the  bush 
toward  the  centre  of  the  herd.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments, by  means  of  little  sounds  and  move- 
ments known  to  his  old  experience,  he  had  the 
herd  uneasy.  They  separated  farther  and 
farther,  until  the  boy,  astonished  and  discon- 
certed, slipped  from  the  log  on  which  he  had 
been  seated,  and  ran  to  and  along  the  river- 
bank,  with  shrill  screams  and  objurgations. 
He  left  his  pail  behind  him.  As  soon  as  his 
back  was  well  turned  and  he  was  thoroughly 
engaged  in  the  task  of  collecting  his  scattered 
beasts,  some  of  which  were  already  in  full 
flight,  Danie  issued  from  his  hiding-place,  and 
fell  upon  the  enemy's  depot  of  stores  and  pro- 
visions. Completing  his  successful  raid,  he 
wormed  his  way  back  to  a  safer  place  of  conceal- 
ment deeper  in  the  bush.  From  this  new  lair  he 
had  the  early  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  frightened 
Kaffir  hasten  his  reherded  cattle  eastward, 
casting  timid  glances  back  over  his  shoulder. 
170 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

When  the  darkness  was  complete,  Danie 
came  out  from  his  concealment,  and  started 
east  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  Kaffir  and 
the  oxen.  He  reasoned  that  by  following 
their  course  he  would  soonest  come  upon  a  vil- 
lage, either  white  or  native,  where  he  could 
adjust  his  bearings,  and,  perhaps,  even  steal 
a  horse.  His  heart  was  beating  high.  He  felt 
sure  that  he  was  now  within  striking  distance 
of  the  Transvaal,  that  one  lucky  day's  riding, 
if  he  could  secure  the  necessary  means  of  trans- 
portation, would  place  him  once  more  on  its 
beloved  soil.  His  hopes,  his  expectations 
swelled;  his  feet  grew  wings.  The  increasing 
certainty  in  his  mind  of  reaching  home  without 
further  delay  or  hindrance  so  fed  his  arrogance 
and  conceit  that  he  felt  rather  relieved  than 
alarmed  when  he  saw  before  him  about  mid- 
night the  fires  of  a  small  camp.  He  observed 
it  for  some  little  time  to  assure  himself  of  its 
character  and  peacefulness.  It  was  evidently 
English:  it  appeared  substantially  unguarded. 
He  could  make  out  the  dim  forms  of  one  or 
two  slow  sentries  patrolling  outside  the  range 
171 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  the  fire-lights.  But  the  attitude  of  the  whole 
encampment  seemed  to  be  one  of  unsuspecting 
confidence  in  the  protection  of  the  night. 

A  little  to  the  left  Danie  could  see  against 
the  star-lit  sky-line  a  number  of  horses  standing 
sleepily  about  on  the  veldt.  Here  was  his  op- 
portunity. He  stole  cautiously  around  them 
in  a  wide  circle  until  they  stood  between  him 
and  the  camp.  Then  he  rose  to  his  feet,  and 
walked  carelessly  in  among  them.  He  could 
see  that  some  of  them  were  knee-haltered  and 
that  the  rest  were  hoppled.  Disturbing  them 
as  little  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  attract  the  at- 
tention of  the  camp,  he  attempted  to  capture 
first  one  and  then  another  of  the  knee-haltered 
animals,  selecting  the  best  among  them.  But 
he  soon  found  that  they  too  successfully  eluded 
him,  and  that  he  was  in  danger  of  causing  a 
commotion  that  might  easily  be  marked  by  the 
sentries.  Fearing  to  delay  any  longer  in  his 
purpose,  he  seized  the  most  attractive  of  the 
hoppled  horses  at  hand,  and  led  it  out  of  the 
herd  and  away  from  the  camp  into  the  open 
veldt.  Placing  the  rope  which  had  hoppled  it 
172 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

between  its  jaws  to  serve  as  a  bridle,  he  leaped 
to  its  bare  back,  looked  up  at  the  guiding  stars, 
and  started  off  at  full  speed  in  the  direction  of 
the  Umvolosi  River,  a  stream  that  marked  the 
line  of  separation  between  the  free  soil  of  the 
Transvaal  and  the  English-ridden  territory  of 
Zululand. 

The  country  he  was  now  traversing,  known 
'as  the  "Reserve,"  had  once  been  a  portion  of 
the  little  Republic  of  Vryheid, — itself  later 
incorporated  into  the  Transvaal, — but  the 
English  had  laid  violent  hands  upon  it,  and  it 
was  now  again  a  part  of  the  British-protected 
Zululand.  Its  population  of  English  settlers 
and  native  squatters,  although  eminently  un- 
friendly to  the  Boers,  was  thin  and  widely 
scattered,  so  that  Danie  felt  comparatively 
secure  from  unpleasant  interruptions  on  his 
northward  ride.  Yet,  when  the  morning  broke, 
he  could  not  help  feeling  somewhat  disturbed 
at  the  openness  of  the  country  about  him, 
which  seemed  to  offer  little  or  no  opportunity 
for  concealment  during  the  day.  The  almost 
level  plain,  in  the  centre  of  which  he  found  him- 
173 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

self,  stretched  in  every  direction  to  the  circum- 
ference of  the  horizon,  with  nothing  to  break 
the  monotony  of  its  surface  but  a  few  clumps 
of  thorn  bushes  and  some  low,  flat  koppies, 
their  grey,  uncovered,  stony  ridges  running 
east  and  west  in  parallel  lines,  far  apart.  He 
rode  on  for  several  miles  with  growing  uneasi- 
ness. The  grass-covered  stretches  of  the  lower 
veldt  glistened  brightly  green  in  the  sunlight, 
the  dew  hanging  in  pearls  upon  the  long  blades. 
The  South  African  birds — the  kalkoentjes, 
syesies,  and  wild  canaries — were  singing  their 
matins  in  the  air  about  him.  From  one  or  two 
distant  and  as  yet  unseen  kraals  he  could  hear 
through  the  clear  air  the  strident  morning 
greetings  of  the  lords  of  the  barn-yard,  doing 
their  best  to  announce  the  coming  of  day  to  all 
creation.  The  presence  in  the  veldt  of  the 
strange  and  early  rider  was  observed,  if  not 
welcomed,  by  the  little  dwellers  in  the  bush 
and  grass,  who  stared  at  him  in  surprise  from 
their  coverts  as  he  passed.  Squirrels  chattered 
angrily  at  him,  partridges  whirred  like  animated 
snare-drums  from  beneath  his  startled  horse's 
174 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

feet,  pheasants  and  guinea  fowl,  or  pullmen- 
tater,  fluttered  aside  from  his  path. 

But  he  had  eyes  only  for  sources  of  possible 
danger.  To  his  left  he  could  make  out  the  line 
of  the  river  he  had  crossed  with  so  much  risk 
and  hardship  the  day  before.  Its  dark  fringe 
of  trees,  the  darker  line  of  hills  beyond  it, 
seemed  still  to  menace  him;  and  it  was  in  this 
'direction  that  he  first  turned  his  head  as  he 
mounted  the  long,  stony  randt  that  lay  in  front 
of  him.  The  air  was  clear  and  calm,  and  he 
neither  saw  nor  heard  any  sight  or  sound  of 
danger  from  the  west.  But  his  horse's  gaze 
was  turned  in  the  opposite  direction,  his  ears 
were  erect,  and  his  nostrils  flaring.  Danie 
looked  suspiciously  about  for  the  cause  of  this 
uneasy  interest.  To  his  right,  a  mile  beyond 
the  edge  of  the  randt,  lay  a  small  military 
camp,  its  regular  rows  of  white  tents  glistening 
in  the  morning  sunshine.  He  instantly  jerked 
his  horse  backward  over  the  rise  and  out  of 
sight  of  the  camp;  but,  looking  around  at  the 
same  time,  he  saw  to  his  horror  that  this  move- 
ment would  not  avail  him.  Already  across  the 
175 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

rise,  and  circling  slowly  around  him  with  the 
evident  intention  of  cutting  off  his  retreat,  were 
two  mounted  troopers.  There  was  but  one 
chance,  and  he  had  but  one  hope, — to  distance 
them.  His  horse,  a  clean-limbed  English  ani- 
mal, was  comparatively  fresh  and  full  of  spirit 
notwithstanding  his  all-night's  work.  Danie 
bent  low  over  his  neck,  and  drove  his  rusty 
spurs  into  his  steed's  ungirthed  sides.  The 
horse  responded  with  a  snort  and  a  great  bound 
that  landed  them  clean  across  the  ridge,  and 
they  were  off  at  a  mad  run  down  the  northern 
side  of  the  randt  and  in  full  sight  of  the  camp. 
The  two  troopers  put  speed  to  their  wiry 
Basuto  ponies  the  instant  Danie  disappeared 
from  their  view,  and,  reaching  the  ridge 
hardly  a  minute  after  him,  opened  fire  on  the 
fugitive  while  still  on  the  run.  The  chase  was 
seen  or  the  shots  heard  at  the  camp.  Looking 
back  over  his  shoulder,  Danie  saw  several  more 
mounted  men  riding  out  from  its  precincts  at 
a  gallop  to  join  in  the  chase.  But  these  were 
still  a  mile  away, — a  disadvantage  of  distance  he 
felt  sure  they  would  not  be  able  to  overcome, — 
176 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

while  over  his  two  immediate  pursuers — who 
were  now  halting,  and  sometimes  dismounting 
to  take  futile  pot-shots  at  him — he  had  the  great 
advantage  of  lightness  of  equipment  and  su- 
periority in  horseflesh.  He  could  see  their  bul- 
lets striking  in  the  sand  about  him,  and  at  times 
he  heard  them  whistle  uncomfortably  near; 
but  at  the  end  of  two  miles  he  was  practi- 
cally out  of  their  range.  When  he  had  cov- 
ered three,  they  had  given  up  the  chase.  He 
feared  that  the  country  might  be  roused  around 
him,  and  he  dared  not  slacken  his  speed  for  any 
length  of  time.  Drawing  rein  only  when  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  breathe  his  now  badly 
blown  animal,  he  managed  by  mid-day  to  put 
twenty  miles  between  himself  and  the  camp  of 
his  pursuers. 

He  was  now  in  a  rougher  country,  and  the 
rolling  hills 'were  in  many  places  thickly  cov- 
ered with  trees  and  high-growing  bushes.  The 
rocky  little  gorges,  or  kloofs,  offered  him  the 
most  favourable  opportunities  for  rest  and  con- 
cealment. Of  the  necessity,  especially  for  the 
former,  there  was  no  doubt.  His  horse  was 
177 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

trembling  in  every  limb;  and  Danie  himself, 
now  that  the  supreme  excitement  of  the  chase 
was  over,  fully  realised  that  he  had  been  eigh- 
teen hours  on  this  last  stage  of  his  road,  the 
last  twelve  of  which  had  been  spent  on  horse- 
back, yet  not  in  the  saddle.  Leading  his  tired 
animal,  he  picked  his  way  down  to  the  side  of 
a  little  stream  that  flowed  northward  from  the 
hills,  at  first  half  concealed  between  two  over- 
hanging and  tree-grown  walls  of  rock.  In  this 
secluded  retreat,  with  food  and  water  for  his 
horse  at  hand,  he  spent  the  better  part  of  three 
hours. 

It  was  well  toward  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon when  he  moved  out  on  the  open  plain 
into  which  the  little  stream  led  him,  and  saw 
before  him,  some  two  or  three  miles  ahead,  a 
long  dark  line  of  fringing  trees,  which,  he  knew, 
must  mark  the  course  of  the  Umvolosi,  and  be- 
hind it,  brilliant  in  the  glow  of  the  afternoon 
sun,  the  mountains  of  Vryheid.  He  was  wild 
with  joy  as  he  saw  his  goal  lying  before  him. 
He  sang  and  shouted  and  wept.  Even  his 
horse  caught  the  infection  of  his  spirits,  and 
178 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

tripped  gayly  across  the  level  veldt  to  the  river- 
side as  if  he  had  done  but  four  miles  instead  of 
forty  since  the  preceding  day. 

Upon  reaching  the  banks,  Danie  dismounted 
to  make  an  inspection  of  the  stream  which  sepa- 
rated him  from  his  home.  Notwithstanding 
his  wild  impatience  to  find  himself  once  more 
on  Transvaal  soil,  he  had  had  enough  of  swim- 
ming wide  and  flooded  rivers.  The  memory  of 
his  terrible  experience  of  the  day  before  re- 
curred to  him  with  double  force  as  he  gazed 
suspiciously  on  the  waters  of  the  quiet  but 
deep  stream  before  him.  He  decided  to  find 
a  drift,  or  crossing,  through  which  he  could 
ford  the  Umvolosi  with  less  danger  than  dis- 
comfort. He  remounted,  and  moved  slowly 
east  along  the  course  of  the  river,  under  the 
great  kameelboomen  that  shaded  its  high 
banks.  A  mile  down  he  came  upon  a  large, 
open  wagon-road  leading  through  a  deep  cut  in 
the  bank  directly  into  the  water.  He  slipped 
down  the  cut  to  the  road,  headed  his  mount 
into  the  stream,  and  let  the  faithful  beast 
splash  his  way  across  at  his  own  gait.  As  he 
179 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

neared  the  opposite  bank,  he  could  not  contain 
his  joy.  He  spurred  his  horse  suddenly  out 
of  the  water  and  into  the  cut  with  a  great 
shout  of  happiness.  The  action  saved  his  life. 
Just  as  his  startled  beast  lifted  forward  and 
into  the  drift,  there  rose  up  on  either  side  of 
the  embankment  some  fifteen  Zulu  policemen, 
and  a  scattering  volley  rang  out,  the  bullets 
cutting  the  edge  of  the  water  into  spray.  See- 
ing they  had  missed  him,  they  dropped  like  so 
many  apes  into  the  road  about  him,  cutting 
him  off  either  from  advance  or  retreat.  As 
they  swarmed  about  him  in  the  road,  each  black 
fore  finger  pressing  menacingly  on  a  trigger, 
the  white  sergeant  pushed  up  to  his  horse's 
head. 

"Hands  up!"  he  shouted.  "The  game  is 
up!" 

Danie  snatched  his  revolver  from  his  belt 
and  dropped  his  body  along  his  horse's  neck, 
driving  his  spurs  deep  for  the  third  time  that 
day.  The  sergeant  saw  the  movement,  but 
too  late. 

"Dubula!"  (Fire!)  he  cried. 
180 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  word  was  hardly  out  of  his  mouth  before 
Dame's  bullet  was  through  his  brain.  At  the 
same  moment  the  black  police  fired  at  the  Boer; 
but,  circled  around  him  as  they  were,  they  had 
held  too  high,  fearful  of  killing  or  wounding 
each  other.  Danie  burst  unscathed  over  the 
body  of  the  white  man  and  through  the  choking 
Lee-Metford  smoke;  and,  before  the  astonished 
"and  discomfited  Zulus  took  in  the  situation, 
he  was  out  of  sight  among  the  trees. 

Already  the  mountains  were  towering  above 
him,  and,  trusting  to  his  instinct,  he  made  di- 
rectly for  their  high  and  secret  enclosures 
through  a  long  and  narrow  valley  that  showed 
at  its  far  upper  end  but  a  bit  of  blue  between 
the  snow-covered  peaks. 

Although  he  firmly  believed  that  the  Zulus, 
chagrined  at  the  loss  of  their  leader  and  dis- 
gusted at  the  ease  of  his  escape  from  their  very 
midst,  would  refuse  to  follow  him  up,  yet  he 
did  not  fail  to  put  as  much  of  the  border  land 
as  possible  between  himself  and  the  place  of 
their  ambush.  At  the  end  of  a  scant  two  hours 
his  horse  absolutely  refused  to  carry  him  farther. 
181 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Dismounting,  Danie  saw  that  there  was  no  hope 
of  the  poor  beast  being  able  to  resume  the  jour- 
ney. He  had  been  shot  in  the  thigh  during  the 
fracas  at  the  ford,  and  the  loss  of  blood,  added 
to  the  other  hardships  of  that  terrible  day, 
had  brought  him  to  his  end.  With  heartfelt 
regret,  Danie  left  him  where  he  fell,  soon  to  be 
a  prey  to  those  unclean  denizens  of  the  upper 
deep,  the  great  aasvogels,  as  yet  mere  specks  in 
the  sky,  which  had  already  hopefully  noted 
the  arrival  of  their  victim  and  joyfully  marked 
his  fall. 

Wearied  to  his  very  marrow,  Danie  kept 
doggedly  on  over  the  crest,  where  the  little 
valley,  now  become  a  mere  pass,  began  to  drop 
on  the  northern  slope.  Here  he  found  an  old 
mountain  trail,  which,  a  mile  below  the  top, 
began  to  show  signs  of  recent  use.  He  followed 
it  cautiously  down  under  a  bright  moon.  It 
led  him  directly  to  a  little  valley  homestead, 
still  high  among  the  hills.  From  the  shadow  of 
the  nearest  kraal  he  reconnoitred  carefully.  As 
far  as  he  could  see,  the  kraals  and  the  stables 
were  all  empty:  there  were  no  signs  of  either 
182 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

sheep  or  cattle  anywhere.  He  crept  nearer  to 
the  raw  brick  dwelling-house  with  the  thatched 
grass  roof,  which  glistened  like  silver  in  the 
moonlight.  There  were  no  fowl  roosting  in 
the  old  willow-tree  beside  the  kitchen  door,  as 
would  have  been  the  case  in  time  of  peace  and 
if  all  had  been  well  with  the  dwellers  on  the 
farm. 

*  Yet  the  house  was  evidently  inhabited.  The 
old-fashioned  window-blinds  were  closed,  and 
the  doors — he  tried  them  gently — were  securely 
bolted.  Gaining  nothing  but  a  negative  knowl- 
edge from  his  investigations,  he  decided  to 
knock  for  admission  at  the  door.  Indeed,  hun- 
ger and  exhaustion  impelled  him  to  the  risk. 

He  tapped  very  softly  at  first,  and,  got  no 
answer.  Again  he  made  the  attempt  with  the 
same  result.  It  was  not  until  he  thundered 
heavily  and  in  desperation  that  a  response 
finally  came.  A  feeble  female  voice  called  out 
to  him  from  the  inside,  "Who  is  it?" 

"Only  a  friend,"  he  replied,  "who  seeks 
nothing  but  food  and  information,  and  who  will 
do  you  no  harm." 

183 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Then  all  was  silent  for  a  minute  or  two.  At 
last  a  little  girl,  wrapped  in  a  trailing  shawl, 
timidly  opened  the  door.  Her  small  white  face 
peered  suspiciously  up  at  the  midnight  intruder. 

"Who  lives  here,  my  child?"  asked  Danie 
as  he  stepped  into  the  doorway. 

The  thin  candle  in  the  child's  hand  threw  his 
shadow  in  enormous  bulk  on  the  opposite  wall, 
and  as  she  attempted  to  reply  her  hand  trem- 
bled so  that  he  took  the  light  from  her  with 
a  reassuring  smile. 

"My  grandmother,  the  old  widow  Swartz, 
lives  here  all  alone,  sir,  except  for  me,"  she 
finally  managed  to  make  answer;  "but  she  has 
been  paralysed  for  years,  and  cannot  get  out 
of  her  bed." 

She  was  still  standing  in  front  of  him,  ap- 
parently with  the  intention  of  preventing  his 
further  passage,  when  another  voice  called  from 
within,-— 

"Child,  bring  the  man  in,  and  let  me  hear 
what  he  wants." 

Conducted  into  the  chamber  which  served 
both  as  parlor  and  bedroom  for  the  old  lady, 
184 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Danie  told  his  whole  story  of  escape  in  all  its 
details,  much  to  her  interest  and  excitement. 
He  ended  with  an  earnest  request  for  food  and 
for  information  regarding  the  whereabouts  of 
the  Republican  forces.  The  child  was  sent  at 
once  to  ransack  the  poor,  depleted  larder  for 
his  benefit.  The  old  lady  gave  him  such  knowl- 
edge of  the  state  of  the  war  in  the  Transvaal  as 
^she  could. 

"Oh,  how  sorry  I  feel  for  you,  young  man!" 
she  answered  volubly.  "You  have  escaped 
from  all  these  dangers  and  hardships  to  find 
your  country  in  a  terrible  condition.  All  our 
farms  have  been  devastated,  the  cattle  killed 
or  stolen,  and  the  poor  people  taken  away  as 
prisoners  by  the  brutal  English.  I  was  allowed 
to  remain  here  with  this  child  to  help  me  be- 
cause I  was  too  ill  to  be  moved;  but  all  my  stock 
was  taken,  and  I  was  left  with  nothing  but  a 
small  quantity  of  corn-meal,  which  was  long 
ago  exhausted.  If  my  sons,  who  are  now  with 
Veldt-cornet  Henderson  and  his  men  in  the 
mountains  near  by,  did  not  bring  me  food  at 
night  from  time  to  time,  we  should  starve." 
185 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  child  now  came  back  with  a  strip  of 
dried  biltong,  cured  in  the  sun  without  salt. 
This  she  handed  to  Danie,  who  took  it  apolo- 
getically. 

"I  would  not  take  it,"  he  said,  "except  that 
I  am  starving." 

He  was  munching  the  dried  biltong  in  deep 
content,  but  half  listening  to  the  old  woman's 
prattle,  when  the  tramp  of  horses  was  heard 
outside.  He  leaped  to  his  feet  and  drew  his 
revolver,  blowing  out  the  little  oil  lamp  as  he 
did  so. 

"  If  it  is  the  rascally  English,  you  must  open 
the  back  door  and  run  out  into  the  spruit. 
There  you  will  be  safe,"  said  the  old  lady. 
"But  no,  stay  here.  It  is  my  son's  voice." 

In  fact,  a  man's  voice  was  calling  from  with- 
out. The  little  girl  ran  to  let  him  in.  He 
strode  through  the  hall,  followed  by  two  com- 
panions, each  with  a  rifle  in  his  hand. 

"Is  all  right,  mother?"  he  began;  but,  as  he 
saw  Danie,  "Who  is  this?"  he  cried. 

The  old  woman,  delighted  at  the  opportunity, 
repeated  the  whole  of  Danie's  story  to  her  son 
186 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  his  companions.  Nor  did  she  hesitate  to 
fill  out  its  blanks  with  heroic  thoughts,  if  not 
deeds,  or  to  embellish  the  hero's  courage  on  all 
occasions  until  Danie  blushed  as  he  smiled. 

At  dawn  on  the  day  following  that  of  his 
re-entrance  into  his  beloved  Transvaal,  Danie 
left  with  his  three  new  brothers-in-arms  to 
join  the  Vryheid  commando  in  the  mountains, 
until  he  should  find  an  opportunity  of  getting 
back  to  his  own. 


187 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


SIX  weeks  had  passed  since  the  destruction 
of  Blaauwkop.  After  they  had  crossed 
the  northern  mountains  into  the  plains  of  Ly- 
denburg,  the  two  poor  women  found  themselves 
not  alone  in  their  houseless,  homeless  wander- 
ings. 

Buller's  columns  were  spreading  north  and 
west  from  the  gate  of  their  entrance  into  the 
Transvaal,  like  the  fingers  of  a  hand.  The  ir- 
resistible lines  of  English  intersected  and 
threaded  the  southern  and  central  districts, 
leaving  the  country  a  burned  and  barren  waste 
behind  them  as  they  pressed  slowly  on  to  join 
the  western  army  of  conquerors  near  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Republic.  Before  and  between  these 
columns,  and  in  the  midst  of  their  ramifications, 
twisting  and  turning  like  frightened  ants  hi 
a  garden  path  trying  frantically  to  escape  the 
threatening  ravages  of  the  sweeper's  broom, 
fled  an  unhoused  army  of  Boer  women  and 
children.  Those  who  straggled  too  far  behind, 
those  who  were  captured  by  the  advancing  col- 
188 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

umns,  those  who  surrendered,  were  sent  back 
through  the  English  lines  under  guard  to  the 
great  concentration  camps,  the  nearest  of  which 
lay  at  Volksrust,  where  the  railroad  entered 
Natal. 

Sometimes  these  helpless  fugitives  would 
number  hundreds,  and  their  wagons  aggregate 
a  caravan.  But  at  the  approach  of  a  column 
of  the  enemy  or  at  the  sound  of  the  thunder  of 
cannon  among  the  hills  these  flights  of  fright- 
ened birds  would  lose  their  coherence,  and  sep- 
arate into  their  component  parts.  At  times 
the  scattering  would  be  complete ;  and  for  days 
together  solitary  wagons  would  proceed  half 
aimlessly  across  the  veldt  or  among  the  hills, 
to  drift  together  a  week  later  by  some  indefi- 
nite law  of  attraction  of  like  for  like. 

Mrs.  Uys  and  Bettie  had  grown  unconsciously 
to  love  their  wagon,  just  as  they  had  been  at- 
tached to  the  rooms  in  which  they  used  to  sleep. 
The  grief  and  horror  of  Gert's  death  and  the 
burning  of  their  home  still  shadowed  their 
hearts;  but  man,  the  most  adaptable  of  all  liv- 
ing creatures,  turns  dust  over  to  dust  in  a 
189 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

shorter  time  than  he  is  ever  willing  to  admit, 
and  recentres  his  attention  on  the  present  and 
the  future  of  the  living.  So  did  the  two  women, 
cheered  by  the  childish  and  hardly  clouded  joy 
and  excitement  of  the  younger — now  the  only — 
boy,  strengthened  by  the  unswerving  care  and 
fidelity  of  old  Maliwe,  and  prevented  from 
brooding  over  their  bereavement  by  the  con- 
stant necessity  for  watchfulness  and  action, 
find  a  ruder  solace  and  a  styptic  for  their  wounds 
in  the  open,  hunted  life  they  led  upon  the  plains. 
Many  a  stormy  night,  when  it  was  blowing  and 
raining,  did  they  and  the  old  Kaffir  struggle, 
sometimes  for  an  hour  or  more,  to  get  the  sail- 
cloth covering  firmly  fixed  tent-shape  across 
the  wagon,  so  that  they  and  the  child  might 
sleep,  if  not  in  dry  beds,  at  least  in  stable  ones. 
Over  many  a  hill  and  across  many  a  river  their 
wagon  carried  them  safely,  but  only  because 
they  lent  their  own  assistance  energetically  to 
the  task,  sometimes  laid  their  own  hands  to  the 
wheel. 

Occasionally  hi  their  journeyings  they  came 
to  houses  that  had  not  been  utterly  destroyed, 
190 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

where,  perhaps,  one  room,  or  even  more,  would 
still  be  under  the  shelter  of  the  tipsy,  fire-bent 
corrugated  iron  roof.  There  they  would  stop, 
and  spend  perhaps  the  heated  part  of  one  day, 
perhaps  several  days.  But  they  always  had  to 
move  on,  sometimes  in  a  numerous  company, 
sometimes  entirely  alone.  The  roads  and  passes 
were  stopped  and  held  by  English  block- 
houses, as  were  the  railroads;  and  only  the 
veldt  and  the  hills  were  free  to  these  poor  wan- 
derers. Once  they  saw,  far  ahead  in  the  path 
they  were  travelling,  a  great  grey  mass  lying 
in  the  middle  veldt.  Upon  approach,  they 
saw  that  it  was  composed  of  thousands  of  dead 
sheep,  killed  in  that  spot  by  a  passing  English 
column.  The  poor  animals  had  not  been  able 
to  keep  up  with  the  march,  and  had  been 
slaughtered,  not  wantonly,  as  might  have  been 
supposed  from  their  appearance,  but  with  the 
cruel  and  deliberate  purpose  of  keeping  them 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  starving  Boers.  They 
lay  massed  together  as  they  had  fallen,  some 
shot,  some  stabbed  or  cut  down,  many  witn 
their  heads  completely  severed  by  a  sabre-cut. 
191 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Bettie,  who  had  been  riding  ahead  of  the  wagon, 
turned  back  with  a  chalk-like  face  and  a  sway- 
ing seat  as  she  saw  the  horrible  sight,  and  real- 
ised its  meaning. 

"0  my  God,"  she  whispered  shakily,  "were 
not  the  men  and  the  women  and  the  children 
enough?  Oh,  those  English!  Have  they  got 
to  kill  every  living  thing  in  our  poor  country?" 

Little  Egbert  cried  himself  sick  at  the  sight, 
and  for  long  refused  to  be  consoled.  Bettie 
and  Maliwe  had  great  difficulty  in  driving  their 
oxen  and  the  little  stock  that  remained  to  them 
past  this  holocaust  of  thousands;  for  the  smell 
of  blood  was  thick  in  the  air.  Yet  they  could 
not  turn  back  or  even  aside,  for  an  advancing 
column  of  the  enemy  was  not  six  hours  behind 
them. 

Not  long  after  this  they  were  enabled  to  stop 
for  a  few  days'  rest  in  a  little  camp  made  up  of 
some  of  their  fellow-fugitives.  Mrs.  Uys  and 
Bettie  made  the  most  of  the  opportunity. 
Maliwe  built  them  a  little  hut  in  the  cool  shade 
of  some  trees.  At  their  feet  flowed  the  beauti- 
ful Komati.  It  was  a  pleasant  spot  to  stop  in. 
192 


"fiettie  had    been  riding   ahead  of   the 
wagon"  (seepauel92) 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

In  company  with  some  of  the  other  women  they 
constructed  a  small  oven  of  sticks  and  mud  in 
which  they  baked  bread.  They  even  went  so 
far  as  to  make  soap,  of  which  they  stood  in 
great  need.  The  few  Kaffirs  and  the  boys 
collected  vogelsent.  From  the  ashes  of  the 
burnt  vogels  the  women  managed  to  make  a 
very  good  soap.  The  children  spent  the  sunny 
"days  in  searching  for  wild  honey  on  the  moun- 
tain side.  The  little  company  could  have  re- 
mained in  this  place  with  comfort  as  well  as 
happiness,  had  it  not  been  for  the  eternal  fear 
of  the  khakis  which  hung  over  them.  And 
this  fear,  unfortunately,  was  soon  realised. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  the  Uyses'  sojourn  in 
this  little  community  a  Kaffir  boy  came  tear- 
ing into  the  camp  from  the  hillside,  with  star- 
ing eyes  and  urgent  voice. 

"Inspan,  missy,  inspan!"  he  shouted  to  the 
first  woman  he  met.  "  The  khakis  are  on  us. 
They  are  coming  right  over  the  hill!" 

The  words  were  hardly  out  of  his  mouth  be- 
fore two  lines  of  dust-colored  troopers  appeared 
over  the  heights  at  either  side  of  the  entrance 
193 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

to  the  valley.  The  confusion  in  the  little  camp 
was  irremediable.  The  wagons  were  circled 
not  far  from  the  huts  in  a  sort  of  kraal,  in  which 
the  riding  horses  and  few  heads  of  stock  were 
accustomed  to  be  confined  at  night.  The 
draught-oxen  were  grazing  two  miles  away. 
Only  the  day  before  the  weary  little  band  of 
fugitives  had  received  word  from  a  near-by 
commando  in  the  mountains  that  no  English 
troops  were  within  striking  distance,  or  likely 
to  be  for  a  week  to  come.  They  were  taken 
completely  by  surprise,  and  awaited  their  fate 
with  hearts  variously  tuned  to  every  note  on 
the  scale  of  misery  and  apprehension. 

The  hut  which  had  been  the  home  of  the  little 
Uys  family  for  more  than  a  week  was  the  first 
to  be  encompassed  in  the  net  of  the  advancing 
skirmish  line  of  suspicious  English.  Rifle  in 
hand,  these  advanced  cautiously,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  every  stone  and  every  bush  that 
seemed  to  offer  the  protection  of  a  partial  con- 
cealment from  the  possible  Boer  marksmen. 
For  the  second  time  poor  Bettie  and  her  mother 
stood  trembling  in  the  doorway  of  all  they 
194 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

could  call  their  own,  watching  the  threatening 
approach  of  the  men  they  now  hated  more  bit- 
terly than  ever.  A  tall,  long-legged  officer, 
mounted  on  a  ridiculously  small  pony,  rode  up 
before  their  hut,  fixing  an  eye-glass  in  his  eye, 
and  seemingly  unaware  of  the  ludicrousness  of 
his  appearance.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  short- 
ness of  his  English  stirrup-leathers,  his  feet 
"would  have  almost  touched  the  ground. 

"Where  are  the  Boers?"  he  asked  as  sav- 
agely as  his  lack  of  breath  would  allow. 

Bettie  answered  in  clear  English:  "Boers? 
If  you  mean  men,  not  one  has  been  here  for 
days." 

The  officer  turned  and  shouted  an  unintelli- 
gible order  to  his  men,  who  moved  more  freely 
forward  among  the  clustering  women  and  into 
the  huts. 

"Where  are  the  commandos?"  he  demanded 
again  of  Bettie,  as  fiercely  as  before. 

The  girl  looked  at  him  coldly.     "We  know 

nothing  of  any  commandos,"  she  said.     "How 

should  we?    Your  noble  army  has  not  only 

driven  us  away  from  our  homes  after  destroying 

195 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

them,  but  has  hunted  us  over  the  veldt  like 
wild  beasts.  We  have  gone  so  far,  so  many  of 
us  are  sick,  so  many  have  died," — her  voice 
broke, — "that  we  do  not  know  whether  we 
shall  ever  again  see  the  men  we  love,  if,  indeed, 
you  have  not  killed  them  also." 

The  officer  laughed  in  her  face.  "Very 
pretty,  Miss  Boer,"  he  said;  "but  we  happen  to 
know  better." 

Bettie  flushed  with  anger.  "If  those  same 
men  were  here  whom  you  pretend  to  be  so  anx- 
ious to  find,  you  would  not  dare  to  call  their 
women  liars,"  she  cried.  She  turned  to  her 
mother,  and  furiously  repeated  the  insult  which, 
she  conceived,  had  been  offered  to  her,  together 
with  the  answer  she  had  made,  translating 
them  both  into  Dutch. 

History,  even  domestic  history,  has  a  habit 
of  repeating  itself  sooner  or  later.  Mrs.  Uys 
was  in  the  act  of  warning  her  daughter  against 
the  further  irritation  of  an  already  excited 
enemy,  when  there  was  a  stirring  and  a  thump- 
ing behind  her,  and  Egbert  broke  between  the 
women,  dragging  an  antiquated  shot-gun  half 
196 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

as  long  again  as  himself.  It  had  formed  a  use- 
ful part  of  the  paraphernalia  of  their  passage. 

"Mother — zus'  Bettie,"  he  gasped,  his  face 
flaming  from  his  ire  and  his  exertion,  "  do  not 
let  the  dirty  khaki  call  you  a  liar.  We  will 
shoot  hmi  first."  And  he  tried  to  raise  the 
heavy  gun  to  his  shoulder. 

The  whole  incident  formed  so  close  a  parallel 
"to  the  one  which  had  taken  place  at  Blaauwkop 
early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  which  had 
brought  their  first  English  persecutors  and 
brave  little  Gertie's  bloody  death  that  the  same 
chill  of  horror  struck  to  the  hearts  of  both 
women.  Before  the  boy  had  lifted  the  muzzle 
of  the  piece  clear  of  the  ground,  his  mother 
had  fallen  upon  him  with  a  cry  of  agony  and 
dashed  it  from  his  hands.  Bettie,  terrified  at 
this  and  sick  at  the  memory  of  the  former  scene, 
was  leaning  ashy  white  against  the  door  post  of 
the  hut.  The  officer,  a  little  startled,  but  be- 
yond measure  enraged  at  what  he  understood 
more  from  the  pantomime  than  from  the  words, 
dismounted,  or  rather  stepped  aside  from  his 
meagre  steed,  and  stooped  in  front  of  the  group 
197 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

in  the  doorway.  With  one  hand  he  raised 
the  rusty  weapon  from  the  ground,  while  with 
the  back  of  the  other  he  struck  the  boy,  clasped 
helplessly  against  his  mother's  breast,  a  hard 
blow  in  the  face.  Then  he  turned,  and  called 
loudly  for  a  non-commissioned  officer.  A  cor- 
poral and  four  men  came  running  up. 

"  Corporal,  you  will  take  this  rifle  and  put  it 
among  my  baggage  as  evidence  of  attempted 
assassination,"  he  said,  handing  the  man  the 
gun  and  turning  significant  eyes  full  on  the 
pallid  girl  before  him.  "Then  you  will  return 
and  definitely  arrest  these  women,  keeping  them 
under  special  guard  until  they  reach  Volksrust, 
when  you  will  see  that  they  are  placed  in  the 
common  jail.  The  rest  of  the  herd  will  go  to 
the  concentration  camp. ' '  He  enunciated  every 
word  distinctly  and  viciously,  so  that  poor  Bet- 
tie  might  not  and  did  not  miss  one  syllable  of 
his  meaning.  Then  he  turned  on  his  heel  with 
a  cruel  smile,  and  left  them. 

Within  an  hour  the  mournful  little  procession 
was  on  its  way  southward  to  Volksrust.  The 
Boer  women  dreaded  the  concentration  camps 
198 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

no  less  than  did  the  men  expatriation;  and,  as 
the  line  of  creaking  carts  and  mounted  men 
threaded  its  way  out  of  the  valley  and  over  the 
hills,  there  was  hardly  an  eye  among  the  women 
not  too  blind  with  tears  to  see,  hardly  a  heart 
not  too  chilled  with  grief  and  fear  to  feel  the 
bright  sun  that  still  shone  overhead. 

The  long  journey  south  through  the  wasted 
*"land  was  made  over  the  roads  and  highways, 
now  no  longer  forbidden  and  avoided  paths  to 
the  captured  refugees.  The  actual  travelling 
was  easier  for  most  of  them  than  it  had  been 
while  they  were  crossing  veldt  and  stream  and 
hill.  But  they  suffered  more.  They  were  no 
longer  in  their  own  wagons  with  what  of  their 
own  comforts  they  had  been  fortunate  enough 
to  save.  They  were  not  grouped  by  families, 
but  were  herded  like  cattle  into  comfortless  con- 
veyances, drawn  by  stubborn,  capricious,  evil- 
tempered  mules.  In  addition  to  the  still  acute 
and  drear  memories  they  had  of  the  destruction 
of  their  various  farms  and  homesteads,  they 
could  and  did  recall  with  almost  as  bitter  tears 
their  final  capture,  the  ruthless  burning  and 
199 


UNDER    THE    VTERKLEUR 

pillaging  of  their  late  pitiful  little  halting- 
place  on  the  Komati,  and  the  brutal  slaughter 
of  such  of  their  oxen  and  cattle  as  their  captors 
chose  not  to  carry  along  with  them. 

Privacy  and  seclusion  began  already  to  be 
things  of  the  past.  Bettie  and  her  mother  es- 
pecially, under  the  orders  of  the  officer  in  com- 
mand of  the  column,  were  so  closely  guarded, 
so  constantly  watched,  that  their  lives  became 
greater  burdens  to  them  than  either  grief  or 
the  monotony  of  which  their  days  for  the  most 
part  consisted  would  otherwise  have  warranted. 
Frightened  as  they  were  at  the  future  in  store 
for  them,  they  were  nevertheless  actually  re- 
lieved when,  at  the  end  of  two  dusty,  windy 
weeks,  the  tents  and  towers  of  Volksrust  met 
their  sight.  But  here  the  mother's  heart  was  to 
suffer  an  additional  pang.  When  the  corporal 
who  had  them  in  his  charge  came,  embarrassed 
and  apologetic,  to  separate  them  from  their 
fellow-prisoners  as  they  were  entering  the  town, 
he  informed  them  that  the  boy,  Egbert,  would 
not  be  allowed  to  accompany  them  to  the  jail, 
but  would  have  to  go  on  to  the  concentration 
200 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

camp  with  the  rest  of  the  prisoners.  Poor  Mrs. 
Uys  raised  her  hands  hi  frantic  protest  as  Bettie 
translated  the  order  through  her  sobs. 

"My  God,"  she  cried,  "am  I  to  have  no  child 
left  to  care  for?  Is  even  my  last  little  one  to 
be  sacrificed  by  the  bloody  oppressors?  Were 
not  my  husband  and  my  three  grown  sons — 
and  God  knows  whether  they  are  now  dead  or 
p>~alive — enough  of  a  sacrifice  for  my  country, 
that  they  had  to  murder  one  of  my  little  ones 
before  my  eyes,  and  now  wish  to  tear  my  last 
chicken  from  me?"  She  could  not  see  the  boy 
for  her  tears  as  she  strained  her  arms  about  him. 

He  was  taken  from  her  and  led  away. 

"Mother,  dear  mother,"  wailed  Bettie,  sink- 
ing to  the  ground  and  clasping  her  mother's 
knees.  "  I  am  here,  I  shall  be  with  you.  Look 
at  me,  speak  to  me." 

But  the  elder  woman,  a  Niobe  turned  to 
stone,  neither  saw  nor  heard  her;  and  she  was 
taken  to  the  jail  heedless  of  her  daughter's 
tears,  deaf  to  her  pleadings  as  to  her  comfort- 
ing, her  own  eyes  pitifully  fixed  in  the  direction 
of  the  camp. 

201 


UNDER 

THE 
VIERKLEUR 


BOOK  II. 


CHAPTER    I. 


THE  end  of  1901  was  in  sight,  and  yet  the 
end  of  the  war  was  not.  But  in  the  eyes 
of  England  and,  indeed,  of  those  of  the  whole 
pitying  world,  with  the  solitary  exceptions  of 
the  strangely  partial  and  blinded  little  Dutch 
Republics,  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  latter  was 
"signed  and  sealed.  England  wondered  how 
the  truculent  and  rebellious  Boers  dared  further 
— in  fact,  had  dared  at  first — oppose  her  power. 
The  world  wondered  how  it  was  that  so  few 
and  undisciplined  battalions— so  thin  a  second 
line  of  "embattled  farmers" — could  still  hold 
in  check  the  quarter  of  a  million  fighting  men 
who  had  so  long  overflowed  their  country. 
The  Boers,  partly  recovered  from  the  deep  de- 
jection into  which  their  early  losses  had  thrown 
them,  began  timidly  to  wonder  whether,  after 
so  prolonged  and  desperate  a  defence,  fortune 
was  not  at  last  about  to  smile  success  upon 
them  and  their  cause. 

Indeed,   the  state  of  affairs,  which  should 
have  been  utterly  discouraging  to   the   Boers, 
205 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

was  in  many  ways  as  much  so  to  the  English. 
It  was  not  the  fate,  the  freedom  of  England 
which  was  at  stake,  nor  the  eventual  success 
of  British  arms;  but  it  was  the  reputation  of 
these  arms  and  of  the  nation  they  defended 
which  was  imperilled  before  the  eyes  of  all 
Europe.  And  England  knew  it. 

To  conceal  his  own  embarrassment  and 
that  of  his  government,  His  Excellency  Baron 
Kitchener  of  Khartoum,  G.C.B.,  K.C.M.G., 
General  Commander-in-chief  of  His  Majesty's 
forces  in  South  Africa,  High  Commissioner  of 
South  Africa,  and  Administrator  of  the  Trans- 
vaal, etc.,  issued  on  the  7th  of  August,  1901, 
a  proclamation  which  was  calculated  at  once 
to  lay  before  the  world  the  fulness  and  extent 
of  England's  dearly  bought  dominion,  and  to 
bring  the  stubborn  and  ignorant  provinces  to 
a  realisation  of  the  criminal  hopelessness  of 
further  resistance.  But,  curiously  enough,  it 
appeared  that  this  proclamation  served  still 
another  turn. 

"Whereas,"  stated  Lord  Kitchener,"  the 
former  Orange  Free  State  and  South  African 
206 


,' 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Republic  are  annexed  to  His  Majesty's  posses- 
sions; 

("Not  because  you  say  so,"  answered  the 
Boers,  emphatically.  "To  annex  us  on  paper 
does  not  convince  us  of  our  annexation.") 

"And  whereas  His  Majesty's  forces  have  now 
been  for  some  considerable  time  in  full  possession 
of  the  Government  seats  of  both  the  above-men- 
tioned territories,  with  all  their  public  offices  and 
means  of  administration,  as  well  as  of  the  prin- 
cipal towns  and  the  whole  railway; 

("Of  our  public  offices,  yes,"  replied  the 
Boers,  "but  not  of  our  public  officers.") 

"And  whereas  the  great  majority  of  burghers 
of  the  two  late  Republics  (which  number  thirty- 
five  thousand  over  and  above  those  who  have  been 
killed  in  the  war)  are  now  prisoners  of  war,  or 
have  subjected  themselves  to  His  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, and  are  now  living  in  safety,  in  villages  or 
camps  under  the  protection  of  His  Majesty's 
forces; 

("We  have  still  as  many  honest  men  to  fight 
you  with  as  you  have  traitors  and  captured 
prisoners  from  us,"  rejoined  the  burghers.) 
207 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"And  whereas  the  burghers  of  the  late  Repub- 
lics, now  under  arms  against  His  Majesty's 
forces,  are  not  only  few  in  number,  but  have  also 
lost  nearly  all  their  guns,  and  war  requisites,  and 
are  without  proper  military  organisation,  and 
are  therefore  not  in  a  position  to  carry  on  a  reg- 
ular war,  or  to  make  any  organised  resistance 
against  His  Majesty's  forces  in  any  part  of  the 
country; 

("We  are  doing  our  best,"  said  the  Boers.) 

"  And  whereas  the  burghers  who  are  now  still 
under  arms,  although  not  in  a  position  to  carry  on 
a  regular  war,  continue  to  make  attacks  on  small 
posts  and  divisions  of  His  Majesty's  forces,  to 
plunder  and  to  destroy  farms,  and  to  cut  the  rail- 
way and  the  telegraph  lines,  both  in  the  Orange 
River  Colony  and  in  the  Transvaal  and  other 
parts  of  His  Majesty's  South  African  posses- 
sions; 

("We  are  doing  our  best,"  repeated  the  stub- 
born Boers,  "but  we  will  try  to  do  better.") 

"And  whereas  the  country  is  thus  kept  in  a 
state  of  unrest,  and  the  carrying  on  of  agriculture 
and  industries  is  hindered; 
208 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

("We  are  trying  to  make  it  as  unpleasant  for 
you  as  we  can,"  suggested  the  Boers,  politely.) 

"  And  whereas  His  Majesty' s  Government  has 
decided  to  make  an  end  of  the  situation  which 
involves  unnecessary  bloodshed  and  devastation, 
and  which  is  ruining  the  great  majority  of  the 
inhabitants,  who  are  willing  to  live  in  peace, 
and  are  desirous  of  earning  a  livelihood  for 
tfwmsehes  and  their  families"  etc. 

("Get  out  and  go  home,  then,"  said  the 
Boers,  succinctly.) 

Lord  Kitchener's  proclamation  ended  with 
the  threat  of  eternal  banishment  for  all  those 
burghers  who  should  prove  so  depraved  as  to 
continue  the  war  after  the  15th  of  September. 
But  the  burghers,  finding  that  this,  the  noisiest 
battle  of  the  year,  was  but  one  of  words,  took 
heart  and  breath,  and  replied  in  kind. 

"Your  Excellency  tells  us  that  our  cause  is 
hopeless;  but,  upon  looking  the  matter  over, 
we  dare  to  disagree,"  responded  their  heavy 
batteries.  "A  year  ago  the  Cape  Colony  was 
altogether  free  from  our  commandos.  The 
Orange  Free  State  was  almost  entirely  in  your 
209 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

hands;  towns,  railway,  villages, — practically  the 
whole  country.  In  the  South  African  Repub- 
lic the  situation  was  the  same.  But  to-day  the 
Cape  Colony  is  overrun  with  our  commandos; 
its  greater  part  they  really  hold  in  temporary 
possession.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  that 
colony,  angered  at  the  injustice  being  done  us 
by  you,  are  joining  these  commandos,  adding 
materially  to  our  forces.  In  the  Orange  Free 
State  Your  Excellency  is  in  possession  of  the 
capital,  the  railways,  and  half  a  dozen  towns 
not  on  the  railways.  The  rest  of  the  country 
we  hold  absolutely.  The  same  state  of  affairs 
prevails  in  the  Transvaal.  In  both  States  the 
keeping  of  order  and  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice are  managed  by  us.  At  the  risk  of  seem- 
ing discourteous  we  venture  to  state  that  Your 
Excellency's  jurisdiction  in  our  countries  is  lim- 
ited by  the  range  of  Your  Excellency's  guns." 
The  brave  and  simple  Boers,  heartened  as 
well  as  beguiled  by  the  deceitful  truths  that 
went  to  make  up  this  natural,  almost  universal 
response  to  the  threat  and  bluster  of  England, 
forgot  that  their  country  was  ruined;  that  their 
210 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

hearths  and  homes  were  wrecked;  that  their 
cattle  were  looted  and  killed  by  the  thousand; 
that  their  women  and  children  were  made 
prisoners,  insulted,  and  carried  away  by  the 
troops  and  armed  Kaffirs;  that  their  rulers 
and  those  high  in  government  were  either  in  the 
field  or  fled  the  country,  or,  like  random  kings  / 
on  a  chess-board,  were  moving  hither  and 
•ffiither  to  avoid,  to  postpone,  the  final  check. 
They  forgot  all  these  things,  and  laughed  a4,  ' 
the  British  proclamation. 

"Can  we  now,"  they  asked  themselves,  "when 
it  is  merely  a  question  of  banishment,  shrink 
from  our  duty?  Can  we  become  faithless  to 
the  hundreds  of  killed  and  prisoners  who  sacri- 
ficed their  lives  and  their  freedom  for  the 
fatherland?  Can  we  lose  faith  in  a  just  God, 
who  has  so  wonderfully  upheld  us  until  now? 
No,  should  we  do  so,  we  should  be  despised,  not 
only  by  all  honest  men,  but  even  by  ourselves." 

The  war  went  on  with  renewed  vigor. 

Over  the  cold  and  long-deserted  ruins  of  both 
Baakenhoogte  and  Blaauwkop  the  grasses  of 
two  seasons  grew  luxuriant  and  green. 
211 


CHAPTER    II. 


FOR  some  miles  east  of  Pan,  a  station  in  cen- 
tral Middelburg  on  the  railway  line  that 
leads  from  the  Transvaal  capital  through  Por- 
tuguese East  Africa  to  the  sea,  the  road  runs 
level  with  the  plain  through  an  almost  character- 
less stretch  of  veldt.  At  distances  of  a  thou- 
sand yards — something  over  half  a  mile  apart — 
a  series  of  little  blockhouses,  bristling  with  fero- 
cious approaches  and  entanglements  of  barbed 
wire,  lay  strung  like  infrequent  beads  along  the 
line.  Parallel  to  the  right  of  way,  and  reaching 
as  far  up  and  down  the  line  as  the  eye  could 
see,  a  wide  strip  of  burned  and  blackened  earth 
marked  unmistakably,  as  well  by  night  as  by 
day,  the  location  and  direction  of  the  railroad. 
This  strip  had  been  cleared  of  the  natural  cloth- 
ing of  its  soil  by  the  English,  as  an  additional 
protection  against  raids  on  passing  trains  or 
attacks  on  the  road-bed  itself  by  the  Boer 
commando  operating  in  the  district.  At  night 
this  scorched  avenue  of  emptiness  was  unremit- 
tingly swept  by  the  search-lights  of  the  Eng- 
212 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

lish  blockhouses.  Under  constant  and  minute 
inspection  by  day  from  these  same  little  forts, 
no  object  could  blot  it,  no  living  being  could 
cross  it,  without  being  observed.  But  the  two 
long  parallel  lines  of  bush  and  trees,  green  and 
untouched  by  fire,  that  lay  north  and  south 
of  the  road,  seemed  almost  to  exist  for  purposes 
of  concealment,  and,  when  so  used,  could  serve 
Jbheir  purpose  well. 

On  a  certain  day  in  September,  1901, — a  day 
so  late  in  the  month  that,  according  to  Lord 
Kitchener's  proclamation,  their  capture  meant 
their  deportation, — a  large  party  of  His  Maj- 
esty's subjects  by  annexation,  but  rebels  still, 
lay  in  cheerful  ambush  in  the  edge  of  the  woods 
north  of  the  railway  line  three  miles  to  the  east 
of  Pan.  The  majority  of  them,  some  hundred 
men,  had  been  in  the  vicinity  since  the  previous 
evening,  and,  while  waiting  for  their  commander, 
a  chosen  few  had  during  the  night  slipped  across 
the  open  space,  avoiding  the  straying  beams 
of  the  search-lights,  and  with  the  aid  of  a 
trowel,  a  couple  of  sticks  of  dynamite,  a  car- 
tridge-primer, and  a  gunlock,  arranged  a  grim 
213 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

surprise  for  the  next  armoured  train  that 
should  pass  that  way.  Their  commander, 
Danie  Linde,  had  arrived  during  the  morning 
with  a  small  escort,  and  now  lay  near  the  middle 
of  his  line,  watching  the  railroad. 

At  about  this  period  of  the  war  the  Boer 
generals  had  decided  that  they  would  be  able 
to  do  better  work  if  their  forces  were  divided 
up  into  small  commandos,  and  they  acted  upon 
the  decision.  This  new  arrangement  of  forces 
made  it  impossible  for  great  battles  to  be 
fought,  but  it  offered  the  Boers  the  opportu- 
nity of  frequently  and  from  more  than  one 
point  attacking  the  enemy  when  he  was  on  the 
march,  of  often  engaging  him  in  small  but 
disastrous  skirmishes,  and  of  harassing  him 
constantly  and  in  widely  separated  localities  at 
the  same  time,  with  but  little  loss  to  themselves. 

Danie,  now  at  the  head  of  his  old  commando, 
which  he  had  finally  and  safely  rejoined  more 
than  a  year  before,  was  on  his  way  to  the  town 
of  Ermelo,  where  he  expected  to  find  and  capt- 
ure or  dislodge  a  small  English  garrison  which 
had  been  quartered  there  in  undisturbed  quiet 
214 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

for  some  months.  He  had  grasped  at  the  op- 
portunity, when  it  was  presented  to  him,  with 
an  eagerness  which  had  astounded  the  little 
council  of  the  officers  of  his  district,  who  were 
accustomed  to  meet  at  regular  intervals  for 
the  discussion  and  assignment  of  their  local 
campaigns.  He  explained  to  them  that  Ermelo 
was  a  district  where  he  was  very  well  acquainted, 
but  he  did  not  tell  them  he  had  not  heard,  even 
by  passing  mention,  of  a  little  family  at  Blaauw- 
kop  with  which  his  hopes  for  the  future  were 
closely  interwoven.  He  did  not  tell  them  that 
his  hopes,  his  fears,  during  the  long  period  in 
which  he  could  get  no  word,  no  knowledge,  of 
Bettie  or  of  Blaauwkop,  had  become  moun- 
tains to  oppress  his  heart.  But  he  was  going 
now  to  find  out  for  himself.  Even  if  ten  thou- 
sand men  blocked  his  way  at  Ermelo,  he  would 
make  or  find  a  passage  through  them  to 
Blaauwkop.  His  own  home  at  Baakenhoogte 
he  had  upon  his  return  found  burned  to  the 
ground,  his  parents,  his  two  sisters,  seized  and 
taken  to  one  of  the  numerous  concentration 
camps,  he  knew  not  which.  His  feelings  about 
215 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

that  horror,  and,  indeed,  up  to  this  time  his 
terrible  anxiety  about  Bettie,  he  had  been  able 
to  master.  He  had  cursed  bitterly,  both  aloud 
and  in  his  heart;  but  he  had  shut  his  teeth 
grimly  together,  and  aimed  the  straighter, 
struck  the  harder,  whenever  afterward  he  had 
come  across  one  of  that  hated  race.  But  now, 
with  the  knowledge  that  he  was  soon  to  be 
assured,  either  for  good  or  ill,  of  the  fate  of  those 
others, — of  that  one  whom  he  loved  best  of  all, 
— his  emotions  became  overpowering.  The 
fierce  eagerness  of  his  spirit  during  the  past  few 
days  had  infected  his  men.  They  lay  restless 
in  the  edge  of  the  bush,  their  eyes  scanning 
the  track,  the  distant  blockhouses,  and  their 
leader's  stern,  drawn  face,  while  their  hands 
twitched  nervously  about  the  locks  of  their 
rifles. 

The  sun  was  beating  fiercely  down  from  an 
unclouded  sky  upon  the  rails.  The  hot  iron 
threw  shimmering  waves  of  heat  into  the  vis- 
ible air.  The  wire  wound  and  meshed  around 
the  distant  blockhouses  shone  and  glistened 
wherever  the  brilliant  sunlight  rested  upon  its 
216 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

strands  and  barbs.  The  reflectors  of  the  search- 
lights mounted  on  the  tops  of  the  blockhouses 
caught  and  returned  the  sun's  rays  with  such 
intense  brightness  that  they  looked  like  globes 
of  white  fire. 

It  had  been  Danie's  intention,  when  he  first 
decided  to  cross  the  railroad  at  this  point,  to 
make  his  attack  at  night.  But  he  had  learned 
,tipon  his  arrival  that  the  road  was  patrolled 
daily  by  an  armoured  train,  and  he  had  changed 
his  programme,  to  include,  if  possible,  its  de- 
struction. The  usual  time  for  its  passing  came 
and  went.  Danie  was  seized  with  a  very  devil 
of  impatience,  and  his  heart,  full  fifty  miles  to 
the  south,  was  calling  him,  almost  dragging 
him,  to  Blaauwkop.  He  changed  his  mind 
again,  and  decided  to  cross  the  line  at  once. 

He  leaped  to  his  feet,  and  called  his  veldt- 
cornet  Koos  Nel.  The  murmurs  of  conversation 
among  the  men  died  down  to  an  expectant 
hush.  In  order  to  take  his  wagons  across, — 
for  his,  like  almost  all  of  the  Boer  commandos, 
was  burdened  even  on  short  marches  with  these 
encumbrances, — he  saw  that  there  was  but  one 
217 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

thing  to  do;  namely,  to  storm  the  two  nearest 
blockhouses,  overpower  their  garrisons,  and 
take  his  convoy  across  between  them.  The 
final  arrangements  were  hastily  made.  Danie 
prepared  to  lead  half  his  men  against  the  block- 
house on  the  right,  from  which  direction  the 
armoured  train  had  been  expected  to  arrive. 
His  veldt-cornet  was  to  take  the  other  half, 
and  storm  that  to  the  left. 

The  sections  left  their  horses  behind  with 
the  wagons,  under  the  guard  of  a  few  men,  and 
marched  in  scattered  order  toward  their  re- 
spective points  of  attack.  When  they  had 
reached  to  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the 
blockhouses,  the  garrisons  opened  with  a  hail 
of  Lee-Metford  bullets,  the  British  firing  both 
from  within  shelter  of  their  forts  and  from  be- 
hind mounds  of  earth  outside.  The  stronghold 
attacked  by  Danie  offered  a  most  determined 
resistance  for  about  twenty  minutes,  and  only 
surrendered  when  the  muzzles  of  the  Boer 
rifles  were  thrust  through  its  loopholes.  At  the 
cries  for  mercy  and  surrender  the  firing  grad- 
ually ceased.  The  English  soldiers  ran  out, 
218 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

holding  up  their  hands.  Danie  was  making 
ready  to  proceed  to  the  assistance  of  his  lieu- 
tenant at  the  other  blockhouse,  where  the 
attack  still  continued,  when  suddenly  a  long, 
shrill  scream  sounded  almost  over  his  head, 
he  was  borne  backward  off  the  rails  by  a  fright- 
ened, frantic  rush  of  both  his  own  men  and 
his  new  prisoners,  and  the  long-expected  train 
went  thundering  by  the  captured  blockhouse 
at  full  speed,  almost  sucking  some  of  the  startled 
by-standers  into  the  whirlpool  of  its  path.  The 
dozen  seconds  that  followed  its  passing  seemed 
an  age  to  the  staring  Boers,  but  the  tram 
reached  the  spot  where  the  mine  had  been 
laid.  There  was  a  terrific  explosion,  some- 
thing went  up  in  the  air.  Then  the  shrill 
whistle  stopped,  and  all  was  silent. 

Nothing  was  left  of  the  heavily  armoured 
engine  and  cars  but  a  few  fragments  on  the 
spot.  The  rest  of  the  material  of  which  the 
train  had  been  composed,  and  the  shreds  of 
the  bodies  of  the  men  who  had  manned  it, 
were  scattered  hi  indistinguishable  remnants 
far  and  wide.  As  soon  as  the  Boers  could  re- 
219 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

cover  from  their  stupefaction,  Danie  led  them 
forward  to  aid  in  the  storming  of  the  other 
blockhouse;  but  there  was  no  need  of  such  ac- 
tion. All  firing  had  ceased  upon  the  blowing 
up  of  the  mine,  and  the  garrison  was  already 
surrendering. 

That  night  the  commando,  having  covered 
the  intervening  miles  of  country  at  a  rapid 
gait,  crossed  the  Middelburg-Ermelo  road 
where  it  entered  the  Klipstapel  Berg,  and 
pitched  their  camp  on  the  northern  confines 
of  that  great  mountain.  After  a  few  hours' 
rest  they  were  again  upon  the  march;  and  in 
the  grey  dawn  they  descended  upon  the  little 
town  of  Ermelo,  asleep  on  the  plateau  beyond. 
The  surprise  was  well  planned  and  as  well  ex- 
ecuted. From  four  different  points  of  the  com- 
pass did  the  gallant  Boers  burst  simultane- 
ously past  the  silent,  outlying  farrn-houses  and 
into  the  leafy  streets  of  the  quiet  town.  Their 
shouts  and  cheers,  the  thunderous  clatter  of 
their  horses'  hoofs,  aroused  the  few  and  peace- 
ful inhabitants,  who  stared,  white-faced  and 
open-mouthed,  from  doors  and  windows.  But 
220 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

no  terrified  English  voices  were  heard  shouting 
through  the  morning  mist,  no  bugle  blared 
alarm,  no  rifle  blazed  forth  at  them,  no  khaki 
uniforms  were  seen  pouring  from  the  houses  or 
dodging  through  the  streets.  It  was  indeed  a 
peaceful  victory.  The  four  small  assaulting 
columns  met  in  the  middle  of  Ermelo,  and 
pulled  up  at  sight  of  each  other,  astonished, 
f wondering,  a  little  crestfallen.  Then,  as  the 
truth  of  the  matter  broke  upon  them,  the 
men  burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter. 

"Hi,  old  Oom!"  shouted  one  of  them  to  an 
old  man  with  a  long  white  beard  who  stood  by 
in  the  grassy  square,  still  staring  at  them  with 
open  mouth,  his  fingers  spread  wide  apart, 
"what  do  you  think  of  us  now,  eh?  We  have 
taken  you  and  your  whole  town  without  the 
loss  of  a  man  on  either  side  and  without  firing 
a  shot." 

The  old  man  grinned  in  toothless  apprecia- 
tion of  the  joke.  "We  thought  you  were  the 
English  come  again,"  he  said.  "They,  too, 
captured  us  in  the  early  morning  without  losing 
a  man,  when  they  first  came  to  us  last  winter, 
221 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

but  only  after  much  firing  of  cannons  and 
rifles,  although  there  was  not  a  burgher  to  fight 
them  within  twenty  miles.  Luckily,  the  khakis 
cannot  shoot  straight;  and  so  nobody  was  killed 
but  old  Vrouw  Pienaar's  donkey,  which  was 
grazing  in  the  veldt  the  other  side  of  the  town." 

Danie  rode  up  to  the  speaker.  "When  did 
the  English  go  away,  Oom?"  he  asked. 

"The  damned  khaki  dogs  went  away  into 
the  mountains  two  weeks  ago,  General,"  re- 
sponded the  old  man.  "Why  did  you  not 
come  to  us  sooner?  You  would  have  eaten 
them  up.  We  are  now  free  from  them,  and 
God  grant  that  they  never  come  back  to  us." 

Danie  still  sat  quiet  on  his  horse,  looking 
down  on  the  village  patriarch.  Three  times  he 
tried  to  put  to  him  the  question  that  haunted 
his  soul;  but,  though  he  licked  his  dry  lips, 
summoned  up  all  his  courage,  he  could  not, 
dared  not,  form  it.  He  turned  away  at  last, 
and  rode  up  to  his  veldt-cornet. 

"I  am  going  to  leave  you  for  a  little  while, 
Koos,"  he  said,  "and  I  shall  take  two  men  with 
me.  I  may  not  be  back  before  night.  Make 
222 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

what  arrangements  you  think  best  for  quarters 
in  the  town.  We  shall  remain  here  for  a  day 
or  two."  He  turned  and  called  two  burghers, 
and  galloped  down  the  street. 

The  ten  miles  that  lay  between  Blaauwkop 
and  the  town  he  covered  within  the  hour.  As 
he  approached  the  vicinity  of  the  farm,  his 
heart  misgave  him;  for  he  could  see  over  the 
^vide  areas  that  used  to  proclaim  the  industry 
and  prosperity  of  Dirk  Uys  no  grazing  sheep, 
no  high-stacked  ricks  of  corn  or  grain,  no  signs 
of  tilled  or  cultivated  fields.  The  air  above 
the  little  randt  that  still  hid  the  farmstead  from 
his  sight  was  clear  and  free  from  smoke.  With 
the  fear  of  a  great  misfortune  clutching  at  his 
heart,  he  pulled  up  his  horse,  and  waved  back 
the  two  men  who  were  following  him  at  a  little 
distance.  Slowly,  almost  reluctantly,  he  moved 
to  the  top  of  the  rise  before  him. 

The  scene  of  utter  desolation  that  met  his 
eyes,  the  untold  horrors  conjured  up  by  his 
imagination  in  connection  with  that  scene,  par- 
tially paralysed  for  the  moment  his  nerves,  his 
centres  of  action  as  well  as  of  feeling.  He  sat 
223 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

motionless,  breathless,  as  if  carved  in  stone, 
his  wide  eyes  fixed  on  the  silent  ruins.  Then 
with  a  ferocious  cry  of  agony  he  drove  his  spurs 
into  his  horse's  flanks,  and  dashed  down  the 
well-remembered  road  to  where  the  home  of 
his  beloved,  the  treasury  of  his  happiness,  had 
once  stood. 

Some  ragged  portions  of  the  red  brick  walls 
were  still  standing,  overrun  with  grass  and 
climbing  vines.  From  one  firm  corner  a  sec- 
tion of  the  corrugated  iron  roof  slanted  to  the 
ground,  brown  with  dirt  and  rust.  The  wide 
stone  steps  that  had  led  up  to  the  pleasant 
stoep  lay  tumbled  to  a  shapeless  heap,  half 
buried  in  the  encroaching  soil.  He  dismounted 
and  walked,  trembling  in  every  limb,  into  the 
middle  of  the  cold  and  repelling  space  whose 
faint  outlines  yet  marked  the  bounds  and 
limits  of  the  human  habitation  that  had  once 
occupied  it.  He  tried  to  trace  from  the  signs 
at  his  feet  rather  than  from  memory  the  loca- 
tions of  the  different  living  rooms.  But  the 
flames  had  been  so  thorough  in  their  work,  the 
destruction  of  the  house  so  complete,  that  he 
224 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

could  not  do  so.  A  twisted  mass  of  rusty  and 
fragile  wires  tangled  among  the  rank  kwitch 
grass  convinced  him  that  he  was  looking  at  all 
that  remained  of  the  piano  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  which  Bettie  had  sung  him  so  many 
happy  songs.  The  recollection  almost  over- 
came him,  and  he  strode  hastily  out  of  the  rums 
of  the  house.  He  looked  about  him  further. 
Great  circles  where  the  grass  seemed  to  grow 
more  luxuriantly  green  than  elsewhere  were  all 
that  showed  the  old  location  of  the  kraals. 
There  were  left  no  traces  of  the  neat,  clipped 
hedges  that  had  enclosed  the  garden  and  bor- 
dered the  paths.  The  once  bright  and  bloom- 
ing beds  had  long  been  choked  and  overgrown 
with  the  grass  and  weeds  of  the  veldt.  Their 
sites  were  alone  indicated  by  a  few  hardy  peren- 
nial blossoms  that  still  managed  to  struggle 
through  the  tangled  mass  around  them.  Danie 
turned  and  walked  out  to  the  road,  his  eyes 
blinded  by  tears.  He  could  look  no  longer  on 
the  grave  of  Blaauwkop.  He  went  up  to  his 
horse,  which  had  stood  patiently  awaiting  him, 
and,  placing  his  hand  on  the  saddle  and  his 
225 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

foot  in  the  stirrup,  prepared  to  mount  and  ride 
away.  Just  as  he  raised  himself  from  the 
ground,  he  thought  he  heard  his  name  called. 
He  dropped  to  the  road,  and  whirled  about. 

From  the  direction  of  the  ruins  a  strangely 
familiar  figure  was  approaching. 

"Maliwe!"  cried  Danie,  in  the  utmost  as- 
tonishment. "Maliwe!  how  come  you  here — 
where— what— ?" 

The  old  Kaffir  came  running  to  him,  and  fell 
on  his  knees  in  front  of  him,  clasping  Danie 's 
legs  in  his  withered  arms. 

"Oh,  Baas  Danie,  Baas  Danie,"  he  cried, 
"I  came  back,  and  now  you  have  come  back; 
but  the  others,  they  are  gone, — they  will  not 
return.  I  have  waited  so  long" — 

With  a  sinking  at  his  heart,  Danie  grasped 
hmi  roughly  by  the  shoulders.  "  What  do  you 
mean?"  he  gasped.  "Are  they — is  Miss  Bettie 
dead?" 

Maliwe  rose  tottering,  with  the  tears  stream- 
ing down  his  face.  "  I  do  not  know,  Baas,  I  do 
not  know.  But  little  Baas  Gert  is  dead, — my 
little  Gertie.  They  drove  his  skull  in  here  in 
226 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

front  of  the  house  where  we  are  standing,  more 
than  two  rains  ago,  the  day  that  Blaauwkop 
was  burned  and  we  started  out  on  the  long 
trek  over  the  mountains.  We  buried  him  far 
out  there  on  the  veldt."  And  he  pointed  north 
with  shaking  finger. 

"Tell  me  all  about  it,"  said  Danie,  in  a  hoarse 
voice.  "What  happened?  The  old  man,— 
>ur  the  grown  sons, — were  they  not  here?" 

Maliwe  shook  his  head  mournfully.  "No," 
he  answered,  "no  one  was  here  of  the  men  of 
the  family  except  myself.  The  way  of  it  was 
this:  We  had  managed  the  farm  for  months 
alone.  The  old  baas  had  been  home  but  once 
since  he  went  off  to  fight  the  English,  and  the 
others  not  at  all.  I  have  heard  since  that 
Baas  Piet  was  killed  at  Elandslaagte.  But  one 
day,  just  before  the  rains,  the  Natal  khakis 
came  to  Ermelo,  and  burned  some  of  the  farms 
near  the  town.  We  saw  the  great  fires  in  the 
sky  that  night.  The  next  day  they  came  to 
Blaauwkop,  and  spoke  many  words;  but  it  was 
in  English,  and  Miss  Bettie  talked  to  them, 
so  all  I  understood  was  that  they  were  coming 
227 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

again  to  burn  the  place.  Anyway,  they  went 
off  without  doing  anything.  But  the  night  of 
the  burning  at  Ermelo  all  our  Kaffirs  had 
stolen  away,  and  there  were  no  servants  left 
on  the  farm.  But,  after  the  khakis  left,  they 
came  back,  and  with  them  other  Kaffirs  in 
swarms,  and  many  of  them  wore  the  uniforms 
of  the  police,  and  said  that  they  were  ma- 
sodga.  Then  they  set  fire  to  the  houses  and 
kraals,  and  danced  dances  around  the  fires. 
But  we  had  loaded  the  wagon,  and  little  Baas 
Egbert  had  driven  some  sheep  and  cattle  into 
the  hills;  and  the  others  were  riding  behind, 
and  I  was  following  with  the  wagon.  Then 
Gert  came  back  to  help  me,  and  a  great  Kaffir 
masodga  stole  his  horse,  and  struck  him  on 
the  head  with  his  kerrie,  so  that  he  fell  dead 
to  the  ground.  Oh,  Baas  Danie,  but  it  was 
awful!  I  lifted  him,  and  placed  him  in  the 
wagon;  and  we  carried  him  with  us  until  we 
buried  him  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Then  we 
trekked  over  the  mountains." 

"And   what    happened    then?"    whispered 
Danie. 

228 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Well,"  continued  Maliwe,  with  a  sigh,  "for 
a  great  many  days  we  trekked  about  on  the 
veldt  and  crossed  many  rivers,  hardly  resting 
anywhere,  running  away  from  the  khakis. 
And  there  were  many  other  people  in  wagons, 
mostly  women  and  children,  who  were  also 
running  away  from  them.  But  at  last  they 
caught  us  together  with  a  lot  of  others  as  we 
j^ere  resting  by  a  river  in  Lydenburg.  They 
burned  our  wagons  and  killed  our  cattle,  and 
took  us  to  a  great  laager  in  Natal.  But  I, 
who  could  do  nothing  more  for  my  mistress, 
ran  away  and  came  back  to  Blaauwkop,  where 
I  have  been  waiting  for  some  one  to  return." 

There  was  silence  for  a  few  moments.  Danie 
looked  out  across  the  mountains  over  which 
Bettie  and  her  mother  and  brother,  attended 
alone  by  this  faithful  servant,  had  made  their 
lonesome  flight  only  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy  they  were  attempting  to  escape. 
And  his  thoughts  stopped  for  a  moment  at  the 
solitary  little  grave  that  lay  somewhere  far  out 
on  the  veldt.  He  turned  with  tears  in  his  eyes 
to  the  old  Kaffir,  and  held  out  his  hands. 
229 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"I  can  give  you  but  poor  thanks,  Maliwe," 
he  began,  "for  what  you  did  for  me  and  mine; 
for  you  know  how  it  was  between  your  young 
mistress  and  myself.  But  I  should  like  to  ask 
one  thing  more.  I  wish  to  see  little  Gert's 
grave,  if  you  can  guide  me  to  it." 

"I  have  not  forgotten  it,  Baas  Danie,"  re- 
sponded Maliwe;  "for  I  dug  it  myself,  and 
covered  it  with  great  stones.  But  it  is  far.  If 
you  will  get  me  one  of  those  horses," — and  he 
pointed  toward  Danie's  two  companions  wait- 
ing on  the  rise, — "I  will  take  you  to  it  now." 

Danie  mounted,  and,  riding  to  the  randt,  soon 
returned  with  a  horse.  The  Kaffir  leaped  upon 
its  back,  and  together  they  galloped  north- 
ward into  the  rolling  veldt. 

When  they  returned,  it  was  already  after- 
noon. Rejoining  the  two  patient  burghers 
where  these  had  made  themselves  a  comfort- 
able shelter  beneath  some  trees  near  the  devas- 
tated homestead,  they  slipped  from  their 
horses,  and  loosened  the  girths  to  rest  and  ease 
them.  The  Kaffir  silently  turned  toward  the 
ruins. 

230 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Stay,  Maliwe,"  called  Danie,  "you  cannot 
live  here.  Come  back  with  me  to  the  village, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  horse  and  a  rifle  and  take 
you  with  me  when  I  go." 

The  old  Kaffir  shook  his  head.  "No,  Baas 
Danie,"  he  answered.  "I  like  you  very  much. 
You  are  almost  one  of  the  family,  and  I  should 
be  glad  to  go  with  you.  Also  I  should  enjoy 
rvery  much  shooting  Englishmen.  But  I  must 
remain  where  I  am.  I  must  be  here  when  old 
Baas  Dirk  gets  home,  to  tell  him  what  has 
happened.  For  he  will  surely  come."  And 
he  disappeared  around  a  corner  of  the  broken 
wall.  rc 

A  few  minutes  later  Danie  and  his  two  com- 
panions mounted  their  horses,  and  rode  away 
in  the  direction  of  the  town.  At  the  top  of 
the  little  randt  over  which  the  road  led,  he 
stopped  and  took  one  long,  last  look  at  the  rums 
of  Blaauwkop.  Then  he  set  his  face  finally 
toward  Ermelo,  and  was  lost  to  view. 

That  very  night  the   commando    marched 
northward  again,  and  before  dawn  the  Klip- 
stapel  Berg  had  swallowed  it  up. 
231 


CHAPTER    III. 


A  MONTH  after  his  return  from  his  fruit- 
less and  somewhat  inglorious  raid  on 
Ermelo  and  his  equally  fruitless  but  infinitely 
more  dispiriting  visit  to  Blaauwkop,  Danie 
Linde  found  himself  within  the  borders  of  the 
Orange  Free  State,  at  the  head  of  a  special 
and  selected  commando  of  four  hundred  men. 
The  object  of  his  expedition  was,  after  passing 
through  the  Free  State,  as  the  fighting  bur- 
ghers still  persisted  in  calling  it,  the  invasion 
of  Cape  Colony. 

Such  expeditions  of  invasion  had  become 
more  and  more  numerous  as  the  war  progressed; 
and  during  its  last  year,  especially,  they  were 
of  as  frequent  occurrence  as  they  were  desper- 
ately daring  in  character.  One  well-known 
Free  State  commando  had  crossed  the  Orange 
River,  and  fought  its  way  south  through  Cape 
Colony,  by  way  of  Maraisburg  and  Cradock 
and  Pearston,  until  it  actually  reached  the 
coast  at  Algoa  Bay,  cutting  the  railroad  at 
Alicedale  Junction,  scarcely  forty  miles  north 
232 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  Port  Elizabeth.  Another,  even  more  daring, 
had  passed  south-west  through  the  Cape  Colony 
by  way  of  Burghersdorp,  Middelburg,  Aber- 
deen, Willowmore,  Uniondale,  and  Oudtshoorn, 
striking  west  from  the  latter  place  to  within 
twenty  miles  of  the  Capetown  railway,  and 
south  from  Uniondale  to  Mossel  Bay.  Still  a 
third  crossed  the  Free  State  boundary  where 
J/he  Zand  River  joins  the  Orange,  and  made  its 
way  westward  through  Britstown,  Carnarvon, 
Williston,  Calvinia,  and  Van  Ryn's  Dorp  to 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  itself,  which  it  struck  at 
Lambert's  Bay.  This  commando,  moreover, 
made  several  destructive  descents  on  the  main 
line  of  the  great  railroad  which  lay  to  the 
south  of  its  course,  seriously,  if  only  tempo- 
rarily, interrupting  the  only  line  of  communica- 
tion of  the  English  armies  in  the  north. 

The  success  of  these  expeditions,  the  fever 
of  unrest  which  they  bred,  and  the  increasing 
enlistment  in  the  service  of  the  Republics 
which  they  stimulated  among  the  Cape  Colony 
Boers,  together  with  the  wide  alarm  they 
caused  among  the  British  authorities,  gained 
233 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

them  great  favour  with  the  leaders  of  the  Boer 
forces.  Picked  commandos  from  the  Trans- 
vaal, of  which  Danie  Linde's  was  one,  were 
sent  to  aid  the  adventurous  Free  Staters  in  the 
new  invasion,  or,  rather,  series  of  invasions, 
into  British  territory. 

Danie  passed  slowly  and  uneventfully  through 
the  greater  part  of  the  Free  State.  Guided 
and  guarded  by  the  forces  of  those  districts 
through  which  he  travelled,  he  managed  to 
avoid  collision  with  any  of  the  numerous  British 
columns  that  were  operating  in  and  occupying 
the  Orange  Free  State.  It  was  his  duty  to 
get  his  commando  across  the  border  into  the 
Cape  Colony  in  as  effective  a  condition  as 
possible.  He  dared  not  risk  weakening  the 
force  of  the  blows  he  might  have  to  strike  by 
even  the  small  loss  he  would  be  sure  to  sustain, 
should  he  engage  with  the  enemy  while  on 
his  way  through  the  Free  State.  In  trying  to 
avoid  an  English  force  stationed  at  Wepener, 
he  had  been  forced  to  the  railroad,  then  upon 
his  right,  and  was  for  some  time  in  considerable 
danger  of  being  hemmed  in  and  compelled  to 
234 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

fight.  But  he  had  managed  to  escape  an  ac- 
tion, and  the  net  spread  by  his  enemies  at  the 
same  time,  by  leading  his  men  across,  or,  rather, 
underneath,  the  railroad,  by  way  of  the  Kaffir 
Spruit,  concealed  by  the  night  and  by  its  high 
banks. 

Having  the  railroad  now  on  his  left,  he 
attempted  to  continue  his  movement  south. 
Rut  he  had  been  observed,  he  had  made  trouble, 
he  had  withdrawn  himself  unaccountably  from 
one  net  spread  for  him,  his  aim  was  guessed. 
His  location  to  the  west  of  the  railroad  was  de- 
termined, small  bodies  of  troops  were  massing 
on  his  right  and  rear.  His  scouts  began  to 
bring  him  in  suspicious  tidings.  He  began  to 
feel  very  uneasy  without  actually  seeing  any 
numbers  of  the  enemy  at  first.  But  he  noticed 
that  he  was  being  pressed  out  of  his  course  on 
to  the  line  of  the  railway,  which,  guarded  as  it 
was,  he  particularly  wished  to  avoid.  Soon 
he  found  that  he  was  being  inveigled  into  little 
rear-guard  actions,  which,  while  still  of  small 
moment,  convinced  him  that  something  more 
serious  was  near. 

235 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

It  was  about  seven  o'clock  of  a  warm  spring 
evening  in  October.  As  the  darkness  increased, 
the  pressure  on  his  rear  became  more  distinct, 
and  he  had  to  send  back  an  additional  fifty 
men  to  stand  off  the  impetuous  enemy.  He 
was  being  attacked  by  well-mounted  cavalry, 
which,  he  knew  by  his  reports,  already  over- 
matched him,  and  was  growing  in  numbers 
every  moment.  His  front  was  not  only  be- 
coming embarrassed  by  the  increasingly  difficult 
nature  of  the  ground,  but  was  also  menaced 
from  a  distance  by  a  small  body  of  infantry  he 
knew  to  be  stationed  some  miles  ahead  in  an- 
ticipation of  his  coming.  Forced  to  decide 
upon  an  immediate  course  of  action,  Danie 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  bold  attempt 
to  recross  the  railroad  under  the  cover  of  dark- 
ness would  be  the  safest  plan  for  him  to  pursue. 

He  knew  that  he  was  opposite  to  the  station 
of  Springfontein.  The  building,  like  all  sta- 
tions along  the  railway  line  held  by  the  British, 
had  been  fortified  and  sheathed  with  iron  to 
serve  as  a  blockhouse.  The  embankments  along 
the  right  of  way,  everywhere  else  protected  by 
236 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

rifle-pits  behind  broad  ditches  and  rows  of  wire 
entanglements,  sloped,  just  to  the  south  of  the 
station,  down  to  a  flat,  wide  crossing.  This 
crossing  was  that  of  the  important  highway 
that  ran  between  Fauresmith  and  Bethulie, 
and  was  protected  and  guarded  by  small  earth- 
works flanking  the  highway  and  at  acute  angles 
to  the  railroad,  each  of  the  four  short  lines  of 
dtfbrks  finally  refusing  to  the  open  country. 

Danie  rode  to  the  head  of  his  little  column, 
and,  bending  his  course  to  the  east,  led  it  to 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  railway.  There 
he  halted,  and  sent  back  word  to  his  energetic 
rear-guard  to  force  back  the  attacking  cavalry, 
if  possible,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  prepared 
to  make  a  dash  over  the  crossing  when  they 
should  receive  the  order.  He  then  moved  for- 
ward himself  in  the  dusk  with  fifty  men  to 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  crossing,  and 
opened  a  savage  and  sustained  fire  upon  its 
defenders,  paying  little  or  no  attention  to  the 
noisy  but  ineffective  blockhouse  nearly  two 
hundred  yards  up  the  line,  and  now  barely 
visible  through  the  semi-darkness.  When  his 
237 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

advance  had  been  engaged  for  ten  minutes  and 
their  fire  was  at  its  hottest,  he  sent  back  the 
expected  word  to  the  rear-guard,  and  at  the 
same  time  ordered  his  main  body  to  advance. 
As  it  reached  the  skirmish  line,  he  placed  him- 
self at  its  head,  shouting  for  a  charge.  With 
a  storm  of  yells  and  cheers  the  ponderous  mass 
of  men,  crowded  into  the  closest  order  in  the 
narrow  road,  bore  down  upon  the  crossing  in 
an  indistinguishable  whirlwind  of  dust  and 
smoke  and  thunder.  The  countlessly  succes- 
sive, yard-long  flashes  from  the  frantic  rifles 
levelled  at  them  across  the  earthworks  and 
enbankment  served  but  to  light  up  strangely 
and  intermittently  the  tossed  arms,  the  mass 
of  white,  set  faces,  the  blazing  eyes  and  foam- 
ing bits  of  the  crowded  hundreds  of  horses. 
The  thin,  unshrinking  line  thrown  hastily  along 
the  track  at  the  crossing  to  check  the  charge 
crumpled  like  tissue  at  the  first  touch  of  the 
onrushing  mass.  Steadily,  swiftly,  resistlessly 
the  commando  streamed  across  the  railway 
and  into  the  road  beyond,  the  skirmishers  fall- 
ing into  its  rear  as  it  rushed  by  them,  and 
238 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

crossing  with  it.  The  noise  of  its  passing  was 
like  that  of  a  heavily  loaded  freight  train  roll- 
ing over  a  bridge.  In  its  wake,  stamped  and 
trodden  out  of  all  semblance  to  humanity,  lay 
the  crushed  corpses  of  the  brave  English  line 
and  of  the  twenty  hapless  Boers  who  had  fallen 
in  front  of  the  charge. 
As  soon  as  he  was  across,  Danie  divided  the 

commando,  and  from  the  fields  at  both  sides 

* 

of  the  road  re-engaged  the  full  attention  of  the 
enemy  by  a  withering  fire  upon  their  works. 
Just  in  time  to  profit  by  this  effective  diversion, 
the  gallant  rear-guard  burst  from  the  further 
darkness  to  the  confusion  of  the  unexpectant 
English,  and  followed  the  main  division  across 
the  railroad  almost  without  loss. 

Gradually  withdrawing  the  commando  from 
the  railroad,  and  replacing  the  rear-guard  in 
its  old  position,  Danie  made  his  way  into  a  line 
of  hills  that  rose  about  a  mile  from  the  scene 
of  his  action.  As  he  entered  its  defiles  with 
the  last  of  his  rear-guard,  the  sound  of  renewed 
and  fierce  firing  at  the  crossing  was  faintly 
heard  through  the  still  night  air. 
239 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

" Allemagtig,  Commandant!"  exclaimed  one 
of  the  men,  looking  back.  "What  was  that?" 

Danie  grinned  amiably.  "I  expect  it  is 
your  old  friends  the  English  cavalry  trying  to 
cross  the  railroad  after  us, "  he  answered.  "  Per- 
haps they  look  too  much  like  Boers  in  the 
darkness." 

Whether  he  was  right  or  wrong  in  his  sur- 
mise, he  was  nevertheless  able  two  hours  later 
to  make  his  laager  without  being  disturbed. 
It  was  evident  that  for  the  time  being,  at  least, 
the  British  pursuit  had  been  discontinued.  The 
hurts  of  the  slightly  injured  men  were  dressed 
that  night  in  camp.  Danie  himself  was  among 
them  with  a  clean  bullet  wound  through  the 
calf  of  his  left  leg.  He  had  no  seriously  wounded 
with  him.  If  there  had  been  such, — he  hated 
to  think  so, — they  had  fallen  to  meet  death  in 
a  horrible  form  beneath  the  horses'  feet  in  the 
charge  at  the  crossing. 

The  next  morning  Danie  managed  to  get  in 
touch  with  one  of  the  small  Free  State  com- 
mandos that  laagered  among  the  mountains 
to  watch  and  harass  the  English.  From  them 
240 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

he  procured  not  only  forage  and  the  horses 
which  he  needed,  but  also,  with  the  permission 
of  its  commandant,  enough  eager  recruits  to 
make  up  for  half  his  losses  of  the  night  before. 
The  dozen  new  men  were  twice  welcome  for 
that,  knowing  the  country,  they  would  also  be 
able  to  guide  him  intelligently  through  the 
passes  and  between  the  English  columns  to 
the  Orange  River,  which  he  hoped  to  cross 
within  twenty-four  hours.  This  river  now  lay 
but  twenty  miles  to  the  south  of  him.  He  was 
practically  certain  that  no  further  obstructions, 
with  the  exception  of  the  crude  barriers  of 
nature,  lay  between  him  and  the  Cape  Colony, 
his  goal.  By  noon  his  laager  was  struck,  and 
he  was  ready  for  the  march.  All  his  scouts 
but  two  had  returned.  These  two,  Jan  and 
Hendrek  by  name,  had  not  come  back.  Danie, 
impatient,  called  his  adjutant. 

"What  about  Jan  and  the  other  man,  Re- 
delinghuis?"  he  asked. 

The  adjutant  thumbed  his  chin.  "  I  wonder, 
Commandant,"  he  answered.  "They  should 
have  been  in  two  hours  ago.  It  may  be  that 
241 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

they  have  sighted  a  column  from  the  hills,  and 
are  waiting  to  make  sure  of  its  direction  be- 
fore they  report." 

Danie  waved  his  hand  irritably.  "Go  and 
see" — he  began.  But  at  that  moment  a  mur- 
mur arose  among  the  men.  The  two  officers 
turned  their  heads  in  the  direction  of  the  sound. 

""Here  they  come,"  exclaimed  the  adju- 
tant, "but  there  are  four  of  them.  I  believe 
they  have  captured  a  couple  of  khakis." 

In  fact,  four  men  were  appearing  over  the 
crest  of  a  distant  rise,  still  silhouetted  in  black 
against  the  sky.  Danie  rode  slowly  forward 
to  meet  them;  but,  as  they  approached  him, 
his  wonder  and  doubt  were  changed  to  surprise 
and  joy.  For  two  of  the  men  were,  as  he  had 
felt  assured,  the  missing  scouts,  while  of  the 
two  strangers  he  recognised  the  first  as  one  of 
General  Cris  Botha's  adjutants,  whom  he  had 
known  before  the  war,  and  the  other  as  Abra- 
ham Uys,  Bettie's  eldest  brother. 

He  leaped  from  his  horse,  and  ran  toward 
them  with  outstretched  hands. 

"Groenwald!  Abraham, — Abraham!"  he  cried 
242 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

as  he  seized  their  hands.  "  How  is  it  that  you 
are  here?  Where  did  you  come  from?" 

"  We  have  been  following  you  for  three  days," 
they  explained,  "ever  since  we  came  upon 
your  spoor.  We  are  riding  with  despatches 
for  two  of  the  commandos  in  the  Cape  Colony, 
and  we  have  had  a  hard  enough  time  of  it. 
Hearing  that  you  were  ahead  of  us,  we  tried 
to  join  you;  but  you  made  such  a  racket  at 
Sf)ringfontein  that  we  could  not  follow  you 
through.  So  we  had  to  go  around." 

Danie  shook  their  hands  again.  "Well,  I 
am  mighty  glad  that  you  got  here,  anyway. 
I  suppose  you  two  tried  to  follow  my  example, 
and  charge  across  the  line.  I  saw  and  heard 
more  heavy  firing  down  there  some  time  after 
we  had  got  into  the  hills." 

"  No,  Danie,  Groenwald  and  I  are  not  as  reck- 
less as  all  that,  although  we  are  very  brave," 
laughed  Abraham,  "and  although  two  Boers 
should  be  a  match  for  a  hundred  Englishmen. 
That  second  battle  was  the  cavalry  under  Gen- 
eral Kelly-Kenny  trying  to  follow  you.  The 
English  general  wasted  an  hour  before  he 
243 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

found  out  that  you  had  slipped  away;  and, 
when  he  came  to  the  crossing  hot-haste  after 
you,  his  friends  thought  it  was  another  Boer 
commando,  and  played  the  devil  with  him. 
And  I  really  believe  he  thought  you  had  capt- 
ured the  line,  and  were  holding  it  against 
him.  They  fought  for  more  than  an  hour  be- 
fore they  discovered  their  mistake." 

"  That  was  why  I  was  not  pursued  any  further 
then,"  laughed  Danie.  And  they  rode  back 
arm  in  arm  to  the  commando. 

The  start  was  at  last  made.  The  two  de- 
spatch riders  were  to  accompany  Danie  to  the 
Orange  River,  where  he  had  agreed  to  take 
their  despatches  over  into  the  Cape  Colony  for 
delivery.  As  the  long  column  of  horsemen 
wound  forth  upon  the  march,  its  commander 
dropped  to  the  rear  with  Abraham,  burning 
with  anxiety  for  the  news  he  hoped  his  intended 
brother-in-law  could  give  him. 

"Abraham,"  he  broke  the  silence,  "you  know 

what  I  am  wild  to  hear.    I  was  a  prisoner  with 

the  English  after  Dundee  for  six  months.    And 

after  I  escaped  I  was  for  more  than  a  year 

244 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

fighting  in  the  mountains,  with  never  a  word 
from  parent  or  friend.  Eight  weeks  ago  I  was 
sent  to  Ermelo,  and  rode  out  to  Blaauwkop 
to  find  it  level  with  the  ground.  It  might  have 
been  sown  with  salt.  Abraham,  where  are 
your  mother  and  sister  ?  Are  they — is  she  dead  ?" 

Abraham  sighed.  "Ach,"  he  said,  "Danie, 
what  have  I  to  tell  you?  Mother  and  Bettie 
-and  the  little  brothers  were  alive  when  we  last 
heard  of  them.  They  were  in  the  concentra- 
tion camp  at  Pietermaritzburg.  This  news 
came  through  General  Botha's  wife,  who  came 
out,  by  permission  of  the  English,  to  see  her 
husband  when  he  was  ill." 

"Then  they  are  alive,  thank  God!"  said 
Danie,  gratefully;  "but,"  he  added  gently,  "not 
all,  Abraham.  Brave  little  Gertie  was  killed 
while  trying  to  defend  his  father's  family  and 
property."  And  he  laid  his  hand  softly  on 
the  young  man's  arm. 

Abraham  blanched,  and  bit  his  lip.     "That 
is   the  second,"   he  said  simply.     "Piet  was 
killed  at  Elandslaagte.    And  father,  you  know, 
was  captured  in  Lichtenburg." 
245 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Danie  did  not  know  what  to  say.  The  two 
friends  rode  along  for  a  mile  or  two  side  by 
side  in  silence. 

"Well,"  said  Danie,  finally,  "we  are  all  suf- 
fering dreadfully  from  this  war.  My  own  par- 
ents and  my  dear  sisters  have  long  been  in 
one  of  their  concentration  camps,  and  I  do  not 
know  whether  they  are  alive  or  dead.  But 
I  can  tell  you,  Abraham,  to  hear  that  Bettie 
is  alive  and  probably  well  has  taken  a  frightful 
load  off  my  heart." 

Under  the  guidance  of  the  Free  State  re- 
cruits the  day  passed  without  incident.  When 
evening  fell,  the  great  river  lay  before  them, 
its  broad  waters  ominously  crimsoned  by  the 
lurid  afterglow,  sullenly  black  where  they 
flowed  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  banks.  Two 
small  parties  of  burghers  were  sent  to  scout, 
one  east,  one  west,  along  the  stream.  Within 
the  hour  they  returned  to  report  an  unguarded 
drift  three  miles  below  the  junction  of  the 
Caledon  with  the  Orange. 

The  two  despatch  riders  warmly  shook  hands 
with  Danie  and  mounted  to  ride  back  a  few 
246 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

miles  into  the  hills  for  the  night,  that  they 
might  safely  rest  themselves  and  their  horses 
preparatory  to  starting  on  their  long  return 
journey  to  the  Transvaal.  Danie  accompanied 
them  a  little  way  into  the  veldt.  He  looked 
long  and  earnestly  at  Abraham  as  he  rode  be- 
side him.  His  thoughts  were  many.  Finally 
he  spoke  aloud. 

^  "  Forgive  me  for  my  uncompanionable  mood, 
*boy,"  he  said  with  a  faint  smile,  "but  you  re- 
mind me  so  much  of  your  sister  that  I  cannot 
keep  my  mind  off  her  for  a  moment.  Your 
news  of  her,  meagre  as  it  was,  made  me  very 
happy.  And  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  your 
coming  upon  me  here  so  accidentally,  so  many 
miles  from  home,  especially  after  my  late  dread- 
ful visit  to  Blaauwkop,  is  of  great  good  omen." 
Even  as  he  spoke,  his  pale  face  set  and  changed 
at  the  recollection  of  the  dark  forebodings  with 
which  the  bloody  waters  of  the  Orange  had 
filled  his  mind  scarcely  an  hour  before.  "I 
hope,  Abraham,"  he  continued  after  a  mo- 
ment, "  that,  when  you  return  to  General  Botha, 
you  will  manage  to  send,  either  through  him 
247 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

or  his  wife,  my  love  to  Bettie  and  your  mother. 
Tell  them,  if  you  can,  all  that  I  have  told  you, — 
and  more.  You  know  what  I  mean." 

"I  will  do  so  if  it  is  possible,  Danie,"  returned 
the  other.  "You  may  trust  me  to  do  all  that 
I  can.  But  you  know  how  remote  such  oppor- 
tunities are." 

"Yes,"  answered  Danie,  slowly,  "I  know. 
But  I  must  go  back.  It  is  time  to  say  good- 
bye." 

With  a  new  impulse  the  two  young  men  who 
were  so  nearly  brothers  embraced  each  other; 
and,  after  a  warm  clasp  of  the  hand  and  a  hearty 
"God  bless  you!"  from  Groenwald,  Danie  once 
more  turned  his  back  on  the  free  mountains 
and  his  face  to  the  river. 

As  nine  o'clock  he  and  his  commando  were 
trampling  British  soil. 


248 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  concentration  camp  at  Pietermaritz- 
burg  was  established  after  the  war  was 
more  than  half  over  with  the  object  of  relieving 
the  pressure  in  the  camps  that  lay  farther  north 
and  west  in  the  zone  of  hostilities.  The  ever- 
increasing  number  of  captured  women  and  chil- 
dren,— which  toward  the  last  of  the  year  of 
1901  amounted  to  over  seventy  thousand, — 
and  the  growing  scarcity  of  food-products  in 
the  devastated  and  overrun  Republics,  swarm- 
ing with  armies  aggregating  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  men,  compelled  the  British 
authorities  to  remove  to  their  own  unharassed 
and  still  fertile  and  productive  territories  the 
majority  of  their  helpless  captives.  The  larger 
camps,  such  as  that  of  Pietermaritzburg,  soon 
began  to  show  signs  of  overcrowding.  The 
Boer  women  and  children,  totally  unaccus- 
tomed to  their  new  way  of  living,  deprived  not 
only  of  the  ordinary  comforts,  but  of  many 
of  the  actual  necessities  of  health  as  well  as 
life,  began  early  to  succumb  to  many  diseases, 
249 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  which  typhoid  was  the  most  disastrous,  and 
among  which  homesickness  proved  not  the 
least  fatal. 

The  concentration  camp  was  situated  east 
of  the  town.  Its  wide  white  sea  of  tents 
stretched  far  in  every  direction,  for  it  was  a 
canvas  city  of  five  thousand  souls.  To  the 
southward  the  ground  dropped  in  a  series  of 
small  and  gentle  declivities  to  the  bed  of  a 
little  spruit, — the  laundry  of  the  camp.  From 
Monday  morning  until  Saturday  night  the 
sloping  banks  and  the  tall  sour  grass  of  the 
surrounding  field  were  covered  with  white  and 
drying  clothing,  so  that  from  a  distance  the 
vicinity  looked  like  an  extension  of  this  city 
of  tents.  At  almost  any  time  from  sunrise  to 
sunset,  on  any  one  of  the  secular  days  of  the 
week,  rows  of  women  in  white  kappies,  or  sun- 
bonnets,  could  be  seen  lining  both  sides  of  the 
stream  and  laboring  in  its  waters.  But  above 
a  certain  point  in  its  course  they  never  went 
for  the  purposes  of  washing  or  rinsing  clothes. 
The  stream  above  this  point — a  mere  rivulet 
and  pool  among  the  rocks  of  the  little  kloof  in 
250 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

which  it  rose — was  sacred  to  a  line,  almost  un- 
ending by  day,  of  white-kappied  bucket-bearers, 
bringing  the  supply  of  water  for  drinking  and 
cooking, — a  never-ending  need. 

Looking  at  the  camp  from  the  spruit,  it  ap- 
peared to  be  surrounded  at  all  times  during 
six  days  of  the  week  with  a  white  wall.  This 
was  because  the  high  barbed-wire  fence  that 
s  enclosed  the  prisoners — or,  as  the  British  govern- 
ment chose  to  put  it,  its  "guests" — was  also 
used  for  the  purpose  of  drying  clothes.  It  was 
usually  hung  with  white  as  high  as  the  women 
could  reach.  The  evenness  of  its  circumference 
was  broken  by  day  by  sentry-guarded  but  open 
gates,  through  which  the  women  passed  to  such 
of  their  avocations  as  called  them  to  the  spruit. 
The  main  gate,  near  which  the  galvanised  iron 
office  of  the  superintendent  stood,  faced  the 
town  of  Pietermaritzburg.  But  except  on 
bright  and  sunny  days  Pietermaritzburg  was 
but  a  misty  vision  in  the  distance. 

In  front  of  one  among  the  innumerable  rows 
of  tents,  striving  fruitlessly  to  bring  a  damp 
bunch  of  poplar  sticks  to  a  blaze  beneath 
251 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

her  kettle,  crouched  Mrs.  Uys,  wan,  pale,  and 
feeble.  The  nine  months  that  she  had  passed 
in  this  hell  in  the  centre  of  Natal,  since  she 
and  her  two  children  had  been  moved  south 
from  their  first  captivity  at  Volksrust,  had  in 
part  broken  her  spirit,  but  had  not  accustomed 
her  body  to  the  new  conditions  and  exigencies 
of  captive  existence.  She  hated  her  captors — 
her  jailers  as  she  called  them,  her  guardians  and 
protectors  as  they  called  themselves — with  a 
deeper  hatred  than  ever.  But  step  by  step, 
since  that  fateful  day  at  Blaauwkop  a  year  and 
a  half  ago,  they  had  proved  their  power,  she 
her  weakness.  She  had  heard  long  since  of  the 
death  of  her  beloved  Piet  at  Elandslaagte,  of 
her  husband's  capture  and  exile.  With  her 
own  hands  she  had  laid  her  little  Gert  in  his 
lonely  grave  on  the  veldt.  With  her  own  eyes, 
strained  and  weakened  by  weeping  though  they 
had  been  for  months,  she  could  see  her  daugh- 
ter and  her  youngest  child  daily  decline.  She 
believed  that  she  should  never  see  her  husband 
again,  that  her  two  tall  sons  would  never  re- 
turn to  her. 

252 


UNDER    THE    VTERKLEUR 

The  day,  which  had  broken  bright  and  sunny, 
had  clouded  over.  A  raw  east  wind  from  the 
direction  of  Durban  and  the  ocean  swept  gustily 
down  the  long,  bare  streets  of  the  camp,  ma- 
liciously snatching  at  the  innumerable  garments 
that  whitened  the  fields  outside  and  flapped 
from  the  encircling  barricade.  Within  the 
camp  the  scanty  grass  that  stood  yet  untrodden 
between  the  protecting  guy-ropes  of  the  tents 
'•"shrank  tremulously  from  the  chill  blow,  and  the 
thin,  weak  flames  of  the  noon  fires  at  the  ends 
and  corners  of  the  streets  paled  and  flickered 
at  its  touch. 

The  morning  of  Monday,  the  world's  wash- 
day, was  nearly  over.  Bettie  Uys,  who  had 
just  finished  her  own  and  her  mother's  washing, 
came  wearily  back  from  the  spruit.  Her  pale 
face  looked  pathetically  tired  and  drawn;  but 
her  dark  eyes,  under-ringed  with  the  shadows 
of  care  and  grief,  looked  more  deep,  more  lu- 
minous than  ever.  She  stopped  near  her 
mother,  who  was  still  struggling  against  the 
disadvantages  of  wind  and  wet  to  induce  the 
reluctant  poplar  sticks  to  burn. 
253 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"What  are  you  doing,  mother?"  asked  Bettie. 

Mrs.  Uys  raised  her  eyes,  red  and  watery 
from  the  smoke,  to  her  daughter's  face. 

"  I  am  trying  to  make  some  poffertjes  [dough 
cakes]  for  our  dinner,"  she  answered  queru- 
lously; "  but  I  am  afraid  that  we  shall  never  eat 
them.  This  was  all  the  wood  that  Egbert  could 
get  this  morning,  and  it  is  too  wet  to  burn." 

Bettie  dropped  to  her  knees  to  windward  of 
the  fire  with  a  bright  smile.  "I  think  that  I 
can  make  it  burn,  mother  dear,"  she  said 
cheerily;  and,  lifting  her  apron,  she  fanned  the 
fire  vigorously  from  above.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments the  sputtering  embers  burst  into  a  flame, 
and  the  defeated  sticks  blazed  obediently  up 
into  the  raw  air. 

Bettie  sank  back  from  her  exertions  with  a 
sigh.  Her  mother  looked  at  her  at  once  grate- 
fully and  anxiously. 

"Thank  you,  my  dear  child,"  she  said,  "you 
always  find  tune  to  help  me,  even  though  you 
do  much  more  than  your  share  of  the  work  of 
this  horrible  existence.  How  are  you  feeling, 
dear?  Are  you  any  better  to-day?" 
254 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Bettie  closed  her  eyes  wearily,  and  passed 
her  hand  across  her  brow.  "Not  very  well 
to-day,  mother,"  she  answered.  "My  head  is 
aching  badly  this  morning." 

The  third  member  of  the  little  family,  the 
boy  Egbert,  came  running  up  from  the  camp 
canteen,  whither  his  mother  had  sent  him  for 
a  can  of  condensed  milk. 

"0  mother,  0  Bettie,"  he  cried  as  he  dropped 

*  the  can  into  his  mother's  lap,  "  the  officer  in 

the  office  down  at  the  gate  says  he  wishes  to 

speak  with  you,  zus'  Bettie,  and  that  you  must 

come  at  once." 

Bettie  flushed  angrily.  "  Why  can't  he  come 
himself  to  see  me?"  she  demanded  petulantly. 
"Does  he  think  Boer  women  are  Kaffirs,  that 
he  sends  for  them  in  such  a  fashion?  I  will 
not  go.  But  I  wonder  what  he  wants,"  she 
continued  reflectively. 

Mrs.  Uys  clasped  her  hands  together  in  great 
anxiety.  "Oh,"  she  cried,  "you  must  go, 
Bettie.  I  am  afraid  not  to  have  you.  Who 
knows  what  the  reason  is,  or  what  may  happen 
if  you  don't?" 

255 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Bettie  rose  resignedly.  "Well,  mother,"  she 
said,  "  if  you  want  me  to,  I  will  go.  But  I  hate 
to  be  called  like  a  dog,  and  to  have  to  obey  just 
as  if  these  English  were  our  masters.  It  is  al- 
most more  than  I  can  stand." 

"  I  know,  dear,"  returned  her  mother,  humbly. 
"  You  are  yet  young,  and  your  pride  is  not  yet 
broken.  But  I  am  getting  old,  and  I  have 
suffered  so  much  since  this  frightful  war  started 
that  I  am  only  too  ready  to  avoid  any  further 
pain  or  trouble  by  submission  and  obedience 
to  those  who  hold  me  in  their  power.  For,  say 
what  you  will,  the  English  are  your  masters 
and  mine." 

Bettie  answered  nothing,  but  she  bit  her  lip 
and  her  dark  eyes  flashed  as  she  walked  to  her 
tent  to  put  on  a  clean  skirt  and  a  fresh  waist 
of  her  own  washing  in  which  to  answer  the  un- 
pleasant summons. 

The  flaps  of  the  tent  had  been  neatly  rolled 
up  that  morning  as  usual,  according  to  the 
strict  rules  of  the  camp;  and  the  cold  east  wind 
was  blowing  dismally  through  the  open  sides. 
The  girl  untied  and  let  down  the  canvas  walls 
256 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

with  a  toss  of  her  head  and  a  defiant  shake  of 
her  little  fist  toward  headquarters  at  the  main 
entrance.  A  few  minutes  later  she  emerged 
in  her  clean  but  unstarched  cotton,  and  made 
her  way  up  the  street. 

The  single  door  of  the  square  little  office  of 
the  superintendent  was  closed  and  locked. 
From  behind  the  open  but  grated  window  that 
official  was,  according  to  his  usual  habit  from 
"eight  in  the  morning  till  six  at  night,  upholding 
the  dignity  and  administering  the  duties  of  his 
office  as  benignantly  and  as  humanely  as  he 
could.  The  usual  excited  crowd  of  angry,  com- 
plaining, and  pleading  women  surrounded  and 
stormed  his  window.  It  was  against  their 
daily  and  ceaseless  importunities  that  he  had 
long  ago  been  forced  to  barricade  his  door  and 
grate  his  window.  For  he,  like  most  English- 
men, especially  official  Englishmen,  failed  to 
understand  the  Boers  and  their  national  and 
deeply  rooted  habits  and  characteristics  as 
completely  as  the  Boers  failed  to  understand 
the  instincts  and  impulses  of  the  equally  stub- 
born and  very  insular  English  race. 
257 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUB 

From  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  into  which 
she  could  scarcely  worm  her  way  at  first,  Bettie 
could  hear  the  storm  of  prayers  and  questions 
and  demands  made  upon  the  unhappy  but 
fortunately  caged  arbiter  of  destiny  within  the 
concentration  camp.  Her  honest  conscience 
reproached  her  as  she  listened,  although  she 
could  not  help  smiling  at  the  form  that  its 
reproach  took. 

"Poor  man,"  she  said  to  herself,  "he  had  to 
send  for  me.  He  could  not  have  come  to  see 
me  himself,  even  if  he  had  wanted  to  ten  times 
over;  for  he  would  have  been  torn  to  pieces  the 
minute  he  left  his  office." 

Indeed,  the  superintendent  was  having  a  hard 
time  of  it. 

"  I  want  a  permit  right  away  to  visit  Pieter- 
maritzburg  this  afternoon,"  cried  one. 

"My  child  is  in  the  hospital,  and  I  want  to 
be  allowed  to  go  there  at  once  to  see  it,"  ener- 
getically demanded  another,  the  tears  of  dis- 
trust standing  in  her  eyes. 

"And  mine,"  cried  a  third,  pushing  her  way 
up  to  the  window,  "  my  child  is  in  the  hospital, 
258 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

too;  and  it  must  be  taken  out  right  away.  I 
can  nurse  it  better  myself." 

A  fourth  complained  that  the  flour  or  meal 
she  had  lately  drawn  from  the  Commissary  De- 
partment was  so  bad  that  neither  she  nor  her 
neighbours  could  use  it.  Yet  another  alleged 
that  the  corned  beef  had  been  so  rotten  for  the 
last  three  mornings  that  it  had  made  her  and 
her  children  sick.  In  support  of  her  allegations 
she  shoved  two  open  tins  of  very  high-smelling 
meat  through  the  grating  right  under  the  nose 
of  the  almost  delirious  official  behind  it.  A 
little,  blue-eyed  woman,  straining  a  healthy, 
chubby  two-year-old  to  her  thin  breast,  wailed 
from  behind  her  stouter  and  stronger  com- 
patriots nearer  the  window  that  her  tent  was 
old  and  worn,  that  she  could  not  and  would 
not  patch  it  any  more,  that  both  she  and  her 
child  were  suffering  bitterly  at  night  from  the 
cold,  and  that  it  must  be  fixed! 

After  edging  forward  for  nearly  half  an  hour 
Bettie  managed  to  get  within  reaching  distance 
of  the  window.  She  was  almost  out  of  breath. 

"You  wished  to  see  me,  Colonel  West, — 
259 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Miss  Uys — ?"  she  gasped  as  she  struggled  to 
hold  her  place  in  front  of  the  grating. 

He  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  brow,  and 
gazed  at  her  helplessly,  uncomprehending. 
Then  a  sudden  light  dawned  upon  his  mind, 
and  penetrated  through  his  system  until  it 
illuminated  his  hot,  red  countenance. 

"Oh,  yes, — Miss  Uys, — yes,  yes."  He  smiled 
broadly  upon  her,  and  fumbled  among  his 
papers.  "I  have  a  letter  for  you, — a  letter  in 
an  official  envelope  that  has  not  been  disturbed 
by  the  censor."  So  saying,  he  handed  out  to 
her  a  long  blue  missive,  so  covered  with  official 
stamps  and  seals  that  she  began  to  have  a  dread- 
ful fear  of  its  contents. 

"Thank  you,"  she  said  faintly  as  she  took  it. 

"Ah,  yes,"  he  beamed,  "I  hope  it  is  good 
news,  Miss  Uys.  Good-day." 

Bettie  walked  hastily  back  through  the  camp, 
trembling  with  excitement  about  the  mysterious 
envelope.  She  burned  to  know  its  contents, 
yet  she  dreaded  opening  it  lest  it  should  be  the 
herald  of  some  new  grief  or  misfortune  soon  to 
fall  upon  the  little  family. 
260 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"See  here,  mother,"  she  stammered  as  she 
entered  the  tent.  "Here  is  what  he  had  for 
me.  I  am  afraid  to  open  it."  And  she  held 
out  the  suspected  envelope  to  Mrs.  Uys. 

"Sit  down,  sit  down,"  said  her  mother,  look- 
ing anxiously  at  Bettie's  flushed  face  and  brill- 
iant eyes.  "  You  do  not  look  well  at  all.  You 
frighten  me." 

The  nervously  excited  girl  twisted  her  fingers 
"together  in  an  effort  to  control  herself.  She 
was  quivering  in  every  limb. 

"Open  it,  open  it!"  she  commanded.  With 
feverish  intensity  she  watched  her  mother  gin- 
gerly open  the  envelope  and  extract  some 
folded  sheets  of  paper. 

"Why, — Bettie,"  began  her  mother,  in  a 
puzzled  tone  of  voice,  "  this  is  a  letter  to  you, — 
and  in  English, — but  I  see  Danie  Linde's  name 
in  it." 

"Oh!"  Bettie  gave  a  great  cry  of  hope  and 
fear,  and  snatched  the  paper  from  her  mother's 
hands.  She  ran  it  over  with  excited  eyes  from 
start  to  finish. 

"  Listen,  mamma,"  she  cried  joyously.  "  Lis- 
261 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ten  to  this.  Danie  is  alive, — he  is  safe, — he  is 
famous!  I  will  read  you  the  letter.  'Dear 
Miss  Uys/  it  begins, '  some  days  ago  I  was  capt- 
ured at  Hopeton  in  the  Cape  Colony  by  Com- 
mandant Danie  Linde,  who,  I  may  say,  is  an 
old  friend  of  mine,  and  who  is,  unfortunately 
for  me  and  for  a  good  many  other  Englishmen, 
making  a  famous  raid  into  the  Cape  Colony.  I 
promised  him,  as  once  before, — during  the 
siege  of  Ladysmith, — to  forward  you  news  of 
him.  Two  years  ago  he  was  unable  to  write 
for  himself,  so  that  my  poor  letter,  which  I 
hope  you  received  promptly,  had  to  suffice. 
But  this  time  he  writes  a  letter  for  himself, 
which  I  herewith  enclose.  It  is  with  great 
pleasure  that  I  carry  out  my  promise  to  him, 
and  I  trust  sincerely  that  this  will  reach  you 
in  good  time.'  " 

Mrs.  Uys  never  knew  until  later  the  name  of 
the  writer  of  this  friendly  epistle ;  for  Bettie 
at  the  end  of  the  last  word  made  one  swoop 
upon  her  mother's  lap,  and  seized  to  clasp 
to  her  heart  the  other,  the  more  than  pre- 
cious contents  of  the  long  blue  envelope.  Out 
262 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

into  the  damp  field  she  went,  under  the  misty 
sun  and  in  the  sharp  wind.  But  she  was  away 
from  the  world.  Over  and  over  again  she  read 
and  reread  her  lover's  letter  through  the  long 
afternoon,  bedewing  it  with  her  happy  tears, 
pressing  to  it  her  lips,  her  heart,  between  the 
reading. 

She  did  not  return  to  the  camp  until  the  hour 
at  which  its  gates  closed ;  and  during  the  evening 
*sHe  sat  silent  in  the  tent,  her  starlike  eyes 
gazing  raptly  through  its  canvas  walls  into  the 
great  spaces  of  the  night  beyond. 

At  dawn  the  next  morning  she  was  raging 
with  the  fatal  fever;  and  as  soon  as  the  gates 
were  opened  she  was  taken  to  the  camp  hos- 
pital with  a  desperate  attack  of  the  prevalent 
scourge,  typhoid  malaria. 


263 


CHAPTER    V. 


ON  the  third  evening  after  crossing  the 
Orange  River  into  the  Cape  Colony 
Danie's  commando  was  trekking  slowly  south- 
ward over  the  veldt  in  a  long,  thin  line.  The 
sky  was  cloudless.  The  great  African  full  moon 
shone  brightly  down  upon  the  moving  column 
and  the  rugged  landscape.  The  many  irregular 
and  isolated  kopjes  stood  out  like  solemn  sen- 
tinels over  the  land,  casting  long  and  slowly 
circling  shadows  of  impenetrable  depth.  The 
barren  ground  for  wide  extents  lacked  nature's 
usual  soft  covering  of  grass,  but  was  thickly 
decked  with  rolling  limestones  and  with  a  low 
brush  that  resembled  the  karroobosje  of  the 
great  desert  farther  south.  Here  and  there  rose 
hi  lonely  majesty,  its  dark  foliage  tipped  and 
crowned  with  silver,  a  tall  karreebosch  domi- 
nating the  darker  plain  at  its  feet. 

Every  half-hour  the  commando  was   halted 
to  allow  the  rear  to  come  up,  and  for  its  com- 
mander to  receive  regularly  the  reports  of  the 
scouts  that  guarded  his  front  and  flanks.    Then 
264 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  column  would  recommence  its  silent  march 
across  the  veldt. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  young  lieutenant  in  charge 
of  the  vanguard  reported  a  light  straight  ahead, 
and  that  he  thought  he  had  heard  dogs  barking 
in  the  distance.  Danie  ordered  a  halt  at  once, 
and  sent  two  men  ahead  to  investigate.  Forty 
minutes  later  the  scouts  returned,  and  stated 
that  they  had  found  a  small  English  farmstead 
^m  their  front,  occupied  only  by  women.  They 
further  stated  that,  passing  themselves  off  as 
British  foragers,  they  had  learned  that  the 
owner  of  the  farm  was  away,  serving  in  the 
town  guard  of  Hopeton,  a  village  lying  some 
few  miles  off  to  the  westward.  The  two  women, 
they  said,  were  at  first  terribly  frightened,  and 
had  told  them  that  it  was  only  lately  that  a 
Free  State  commando  had  started  to  loot  the 
farm,  but  had  been  driven  away  by  the  English 
force  stationed  at  Hopeton. 

After  a  short  conference  with  his  officers, 

Danie  ordered  the  commando    forward,  and 

their  next  halt  was  made  at  the  farmstead. 

The  lights  in  the  house  had  disappeared,  and 

265 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

there  was  no  sign  of  life  about  the  place.  Dis- 
mounting, Danie  and  his  adjutant,  Redeling- 
huis,  went  up  to  the  door,  followed  by  the  two 
scouts,  who  had  entered  it  before.  The  ad- 
jutant knocked  heavily.  After  some  delay 
the  door  was  timidly  opened,  and  in  the  light 
of  an  unsteady  hand-lamp  three  shaking  women 
revealed  themselves,  evidently  a  mother  and 
her  two  daughters. 

"I  will  not  deceive  you,  ladies,"  said  Danie, 
politely.  "I  am  Commandant  Linde  of  the 
federal  forces.  I  am  in  great  need  of  food  and 
fodder,  and  I  shall  have  to  have  some  from  this 
place.  But  I  wish  to  assure  you  that  neither 
I  nor  my  men  will  do  you  any  hacm  or  take 
anything  from  you  that  we  do  not  pay  for." 

The  three  looked  frightened  enough.  The 
old  lady  began  to  stammer  apologies  for  some 
remarks  she  had  made  to  the  scouts  uncom- 
plimentary to  the  Boers.  But  Danie  laughed. 

"Don't  bother  about  that,  madam,"  he  said. 
"  We  are  not  fighting  against  women,  nor  do  I 
expect  an  Englishwoman  to  be  other  than 
English." 

266 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Reassured  by  his  words  and  manner,  the  old 
lady  chirked  up  and  smiled  a  feeble  smile. 

"I — er — you  are  welcome  to  whatever  we 
have,  sir,"  she  quavered,  "but,  as  I  told  the 
two — your  men  who  were  here  before — we 
have  almost  nothing  left.  A  few  ricks  of  corn, 
a  few  cattle,  a  few  sheep." 

"  Three  or  four  of  each  of  those  items  will  be 
enough,  thank  you,  ma'am,"  answered  Danie, 
^returning  her  smile. 

He  went  himself  with  some  of  the  men  to 
see  that  the  commando's  wants  were  moder- 
ately supplied,  and  that  no  harm,  besides  the 
necessary  slaughter  of  the  animals  turned  over 
to  him,  was  perpetrated.  Then,  accepting  an 
invitation  of  his  hostess,  he  and  his  officers  en- 
tered the  house  for  a  meal  less  lately  on  the 
hoof. 

During  the  entertainment  he  learned  to  his 
satisfaction  that  the  village  of  Hopeton  lay 
only  five  miles  distant,  and  that  its  garrison, 
so  far  as  the  knowledge  of  the  women  went, 
consisted  only  of  two  troops  of  regular  cavalry 
and  one  hundred  volunteer  militia,  with  a  small 
267 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

battery  of  light  guns.  He  decided,  after  a  brief 
consultation  with  his  officers,  to  pass  the  rest 
of  that  night  at  the  farm  and  to  attack  Hopeton 
at  daybreak.  A  cordon  was  immediately  sta- 
tioned around  the  farmstead  to  see  that  the 
good  women  sent  no  information  to  the  little 
village  of  their  visitor's  presence,  while  some 
scouts  were  sent  out  at  once  to  reconnoitre  in 
the  direction  of  the  town,  and  to  visit  the 
several  farms  in  the  neighborhood  to  obtain 
one  or  two  colonial  Boers  to  act  as  guides  when 
the  attack  was  made. 

As  the  column  moved  westward  to  the  attack 
through  the  last  dead  hour  that  precedes  the 
dawn,  the  descending  moon  lay  low  in  front 
of  it.  The  intervening  karreebossen  threw  a 
shadowy  tracery  of  leaves  in  bewildering  beauty 
over  the  faces  and  forms  of  the  advancing  horse- 
men. Rising  high  to  each  side  of  the  moon, 
so  that  she  seemed  to  lie  a  lake  of  living  fire 
caught  in  the  valley  bowl  that  joined  them, 
stood  two  sombre  hills.  These,  said  their 
guides,  were  the  Twee  Zusters;  and  behind 
them  lay  Hopeton.  Borne  on  the  sweet,  early 
268 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

breeze  from  their  dark  sides  and  from  the  mys- 
terious night  around,  the  dismal  howls  of  the 
Maanhaar  jackals,  and,  from  time  to  time,  more 
mournful  shrieks  than  theirs,  quivered  across 
the  veldt.  Some  of  the  men  moved  uneasily 
in  their  saddles.  "Hear  the  'weer'  wolves," 
they  murmured,  and  cast  sidelong  glances  into 
the  night.  But  they  spoke  only  in  whispers. 
The  spell  of  night  was  upon  them.  The  only 
Bother  sounds  that  broke  the  stillness  were  the 
monotonous  clatter  of  the  iron-shod  feet  on  the 
rough  ground  and  the  occasional  snort,  the  in- 
frequent stumble,  of  a  horse. 

As  they  approached  the  Twee  Zusters,  the 
first  faint  flushes  of  morning  lighted  the  east. 
Danie  brought  his  commando  to  a  last  halt 
between  the  two  tall  sister  hills.  The  village 
lay  beneath  them  in  the  plain,  close  around  it 
the  white  tents  of  its  guardians.  Two  small, 
dun  mounds  on  little  rises  to  right  and  left  of 
the  town  and  camp  indicated  the  probable  lo- 
cations of  the  batteries. 

Dawn  now  began  to  break  in  earnest.  The 
purple  cloaks  of  darkness  that  had  wrapped 
269 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  hills  during  the  night  began  to  slip  down 
their  sides.  The  curtain  of  the  night  slowly 
lifted,  and  revealed  the  wide  stage  of  nature, 
whereon  man  in  the  light  of  a  new  day  was 
once  more  to  make  his  bow  and  proceed  with 
his  part,  mean  or  noble,  degrading  or  ideal,  as 
God  should  will  or  his  own  desires  dictate. 

Danie  surveyed  the  scene  before  him,  and 
quickly  made  up  his  mind  how  to  act.  At  his 
orders  the  commando  divided  and  filed  out  to 
right  and  left  along  the  bases  of  the  hills  in 
two  thin  ribbons,  to  surround  and  close  in  upon 
the  village  with  a  grip  of  steel.  One  swift 
charge  Danie  hoped  would  accomplish  his  pur- 
pose. He  knew  from  experience  that  the  Eng- 
lish, if  given  breathing-space,  could  be  stub- 
born and  troublesome  to  the  last  degree,  but 
that  sudden  rushes  in  the  early  morning  be- 
fore "Tommy"  had  had  his  breakfast  or  even 
rubbed  the  sleep  out  of  his  eyes  paralysed  him 
with  astonishment,  and  rendered  him  helpless 
with  confusion  and  disgust. 

Both  camp  and  town  slept  calmly  on,  unsus- 
picious, unconscious  of  the  danger  that  was  al- 
270 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

most  upon  them.  The  sentries  of  the  home- 
guard  of  militia  were  frankly  and  sweetly  slum- 
bering in  the  lee  of  the  green  acacia  hedges  at 
the  outskirts  of  the  village,  or  in  the  edges  of 
the  vineyards  where  the  famous  Hanepoot  and 
the  swart  Miskedell  grapes  grew  along  the  banks 
of  the  little  stream.  Even  the  regular  videttes 
of  the  cavalry  sat  their  horses  in  the  hollows 
with  nodding  heads  and  frequent  glances  toward 
the  camp  to  which  they  were  so  soon  to  be 
withdrawn.  The  very  aspect  of  the  town  it- 
self, with  its  still  and  as  yet  smokeless  houses, 
was  one  of  the  utmost  peace  and  quiet.  The 
shady  streets,  the  restful  flower  gardens,  the 
little  park  with  its  dark  green  hedgerows  of 
microcaba,  looked  as  if  there  were  no  such 
thing  as  war.  Across  the  veldt,  their  circle 
narrowing  with  uncanny  rapidity,  the  Boers 
were  approaching  to  turn  this  little  paradise 
into  a  bloody  arena  of  strife.  And  only  the  old 
Dutch  church  seemed  to  take  notice  of  their 
coming.  It  was  with  something  like  a  guilty 
tug  at  his  heart  that  Danie  saw  its  tall,  straight 
tower  pointing  finger-like  toward  heaven,  as  if 
271 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

claiming  God's  attention,  demanding  His  inter- 
vention in  what  was  happening  below. 

The  thunder  of  their  horses'  hoofs  first 
awakened  the  perception  of  the  nearest  vidette. 
With  white  face  and  frightened  eyes  he  shakily 
fired  his  carbine  at  the  advancing  line,  and,  turn- 
ing his  steed,  dashed  yelling  toward  the  camp. 
But  the  unhappy  neglecter  of  his  duty  did  not 
get  far.  The  single  shot  that  signalled  the 
final  charge  of  the  Boers  passed  through  his 
perturbed  heart.  He  rolled  from  his  horse, 
and  crashed  to  the  ground  just  in  time  to  be 
ridden  over  by  the  furious  rush.  A  few  feeble 
and  harmless  volleys  from  garrison  and  town, 
the  short,  sharp  thunder  of  one  three-pounder, 
the  rattling  speech  of  a  machine  gun,  interrupted 
before  the  first  half-dozen  words  were  fairly 
out  of  its  mouth,  a  few  more  scattering  shots, 
and  all  was  over.  The  only  crew  that  had 
reached  its  gun  in  the  little  battery  had  been 
ridden  down  by  sheer  weight  of  horseflesh  after 
the  first  discharge.  Except  for  the  guard  of 
the  regular  camp,  few  of  its  occupants  had  even 
raised  their  rifles.  The  militia,  almost  to  a 
272 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

man,  had  awakened  to  a  state  of  peace  almost 
as  deep  as  that  in  which  they  had  slept.  But 
they  were  prisoners  of  war. 

A  great  shout  of  "Hoera  voor  die  Boere!" 
rang  out  from  the  throats  of  the  victorious 
Transvaalers.  Their  success  was  complete. 
At  the  slight  cost  of  two  men  wounded  they 
had  captured  over  three  hundred  prisoners 
^with  horses  and  accoutrements  to  correspond, 
six  small  guns,  and  forage,  provision,  and  loot 
unlimited.  The  enemy  himself  had  lost  but 
four  men  killed  and  a  scant  two  dozen  wounded. 
His  chagrin  was  naturally  in  inverse  proportion 
to  his  loss. 

Danie  Linde,  conqueror  in  his  own  right,  sat 
and  took  his  ease  in  the  office  of  the  little  hotel 
of  Hopetou.  Before  him  came  the  captured 
British  officers.  As  the  first  one  entered  the 
door  of  the  ground-floor  apartment  which 
served  in  the  piping  times  of  peace  as  office, 
bar-room,  and  parlour,  but  which  now  was 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  an  audience  chamber, 
Danie  sprang  up  from  his  chair  in  amaze- 
ment. 

273 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Campbell, — Captain  Campbell!"  he  shouted, 
running  forward  with  outstretched  hands.  "  My 
old  friend,  my  kind  friend,  how  glad  I  am  to 
see  you!  How  glad  I  am  it  is  you  whom  I  have 
captured!" 

"The  devil  you  are!"  cried  the  Englishman, 
clasping  his  hand  warmly.  "I  am  far  from 
glad  that  I  have  been  captured.  But,  if  it 
had  to  happen,  I  had  rather  have  had  you  do 
it  than  any  other  Boer  I  can  think  off.  But 
how  do  you  do,  Linde?  You  are  looking  much 
better  than  when  I  saw  you  last,"  he  said. 

Danie  laughed.  "I  am  feeling  very  much 
better,  thank  you,  than  when  we  parted  in  the 
neutral  camp  at  Ladysmith.  It  was  not  until 
after  many  weeks  of  the  special  consideration 
your  kindness  procured  for  me  in  the  Pieter- 
maritzburg  prison-hospital  that  I  really  began 
to  recover." 

"I  hardly  believed  that  you  had  any  chance 
of  living  after  the  frightful  mauling  you  received 
at  Dundee,"  responded  Campbell,  seriously. 
'•'But  you  certainly  look  remarkably  healthy 
now.  Perhaps,"  he  added  whimsically,  "if  I 
274 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

had  known  what  was  going  to  happen  to-day, 
I  should  have  fired  straighter  two  years  ago  at 
Dundee  or  arranged  to  have  them  make  away 
with  you  at  Pietermaritzburg." 

"Fortune  of  war,  Campbell,"  grinned  Danie, 
"I  am  glad  that  I  didn't  tell  you  what  I  was 
going  to  do.  But  it  is  breakfast  time;  and,  as 
I  am  afraid  I  slightly  upset  your  own  arrange- 
ments for  that  meal,  I  will  make  up  for  it  by 
asking  you  to  share  mine  with  me." 

"You  killed  the  best  cook  that  I  have  had 
so  far  in  this  war,"  answered  the  other,  grimly; 
"and  so  I  shall  accept  your  invitation  with 
pleasure." 

Turning  Major  Campbell's  subordinates  over 
to  the  care  of  his  own,  Danie  took  his  friend  with 
him  into  the  little  dining-room,  where  a  table 
supplied  with  what  the  house  could  afford  was 
already  laid  for  him.  When  they  were  nearly 
through  with  their  meal,  their  friendly  flow  of 
conversation  was  interrupted  by  a  series  of 
loud  explosions.  The  Englishman  started  up 
in  his  chair. 

"Ha!  what  is  that?"  he  cried. 
275 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Danie  smiled  calmly.  "Be  seated,  Camp- 
bell," he  answered.  "I  am  sorry,  but  it  is  noc 
yet  the  relief  column  come  to  help  you  out. 
My  men  are  blowing  up  your  pretty  guns,  be- 
cause we  cannot  take  them  with  us." 

The  other's  face  fell.  "Good  Lord!"  he  ex- 
claimed. "I  wonder  what  they  will  say  to 
me!  I  may  have  to  resign,  and  go  home  in 
disgrace.  My  beautiful  guns!" 

Danie  tried  to  console  him.  "You  couldn't 
help  it,  my  dear  Major,"  he  said  kindly.  "I 
was  bound  to  get  you.  It  was  what  I  started 
out  to  do." 

Major  Campbell  smiled  a  dry  smile.  "That 
is  poor  consolation,"  he  said.  "What  /  started 
out  to  do  was  not  to  be  caught  napping.  But 
excuse  me  for  grumbling.  I  won't  do  so  any 
more." 

As  they  rose  from  the  table,  Danie  held  out 
his  hand  again  to  his  prisoner. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "I  will  tell  you  what  I  am 

going  to  do.     I  am  going  to  march  your  men  a 

number  of  miles  north  under  guard,  and  turn 

them  loose  across  the  Orange  River.    I  can't 

276 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

kill  them  or  keep  them,  and  that  will  get  them 
out  of  the  way.  I  had  intended  to  hold  you 
and  your  officers  prisoners,  and  to  take  you 
along  with  us,"  he  smiled,  "just  to  show  you 
how  the  thing  is  done.  But  seeing  that  it  is 
you,  Campbell,  I  have  softened  my  heart.  I 
am  going  to  release  you,  and  with  you  all  your 
officers,  on  condition  that  you  give  me  your 
word  to  go  straight  to  Cradock,  and  not  to  give 
ahy  information  about  me  in  any  way  until 
you  get  there." 

Campbell  flushed  gratefully.  "You  are  very 
generous,"  he  answered.  "Nothing  could  be 
fairer.  I  formally  accept  your  offer  now  for 
myself  and  my  officers.  But  I  shall  ask  your 
permission,  however,  to  send  a  captain  along 
with  the  men  to  take  charge  of  them  when  your 
people  leave  them,  and  who  will  agree  to  keep 
them  in  order  on  the  march." 

"Certainly  you  may  do  so,"  answered  Danie, 
heartily.  "And  it  will  be  of  great  assistance. 
And  now  I  have  a  favour  to  ask  of  you,  similar 
to  the  one  I  asked  of  you  two  years  ago  at 
Ladysmith.  I  want  very  much  to  send  a  letter 
277 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

to  a  lady  who  is  now  confined  in  the  concentra- 
tion camp  at  Pietermaritzburg.  The  letter  will 
be  purely  personal,  I  assure  you,  and  will  con- 
tain nothing  that  your  censors  would  not  pass." 
He  blushed.  "Still,  I  should  prefer  that  they 
did  not  open  it.  It  is  to  the  same  lady  to  whom 
you  promised  to  send  word  of  me  when  we  were 
at  Ladysmith,"  he  added  hurriedly.  "Do  you 
still  remember?" 

"By  Jove,  I  do  remember,"  said  Campbell. 
"  I  will  gladly  take  charge  of  your  letter,  and  I 
am  sure  that  I  can  agree  to  forward  it  for  you 
without  its  being  opened.  By  the  way,  I  think  I 
have  the  man  here  whom  I  sent  especially  with 
a  letter  to  the  young  lady's  home  about  the 
time  of  your  escape  from  Natal.  As  I  was 
wounded  again  two  days  after  I  saw  you  last 
by  a  shell  inside  Ladysmith, — where,  you 
know,  I  went  when  I  left  you, — I  could  not 
keep  my  promise  for  some  months.  But  I  re- 
membered it;  and,  when  I  did  write,  I  filled  the 
letter  with  wonderful  news  concerning  you  and 
your  recovery,  which  I  got  from  the  hospital 
officials,  to  compensate  for  the  delay." 
278  , 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"You  have  the  man  here  who  went  with  the 
letter?"  asked  Dame,  eagerly.  "I  should  like 
to  see  him  very  much.  Except  the  news  that 
Miss  Uys  and  her  mother  were  in  the  Pieter- 
maritzburg  camp,  which  I  received  very  lately, 
I  have  not  heard  one  word  from  or  of  them 
since  before  the  battle  of  Dundee.  But  I 
should  be  delighted  to  know  that  she,  at  least, 
had  heard  of  me." 

"^By  Jove/'  said  Campbell,  in  amazement, 
"now  who  would  believe  it?  Devilish  hard 
luck,  my  boy!  We  will  look  the  man  up  right 
away  if  you  like." 

Danie  was  more  than  willing;  and  the  two 
officers  left  the  hotel,  and  strode  down  the  street 
to  where  Campbell's  disconsolate  khakis  were 
seated  or  stood  in  groups  in  the  middle  of  the 
green,  surrounded  and  guarded  by  a  cordon  of 
many  Boers,  freshly  mounted  on  great  English 
cavalry  horses  and  cheerfully  fondling  extra 
rifles  and  cartridge  belts  that  had  once  been 
the  property  of  the  British  government.  Danie 
followed  his  friend  as  the  English  officer  made 
his  way  through  the  crowd  of  prisoners,  the  men 
279 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

jumping  stiffly  up  to  salute  him  as  he  passed. 
But  his  footsteps  dragged  a  little  and  he  put 
a  detaining  hand  on  Campbell's  arm  as  he  no- 
ticed that  they  were  approaching  a  group  of 
uniformed  Kaffir  police. 

"I  am  sorry  to  see  that  you  condescend  to 
arm  savages  to  fight  against  us,"  he  said  coldly. 
"  It  is  against  all  the  dictates  of  civilisation,  and 
should  not  be  permitted  in  civilised  warfare.  I 
emphatically  repeat  the  protest  that  has 
already  been  made  so  many  times  by  my  higher 
officers." 

Major  Campbell's  face  flushed,  and  his  voice 
betrayed  his  embarrassment.  "I  cannot  re- 
fuse to  command  men  who  are  placed  under 
me,"  he  replied  lamely;  "but,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  these  police  were  armed  only  for  defence, 
and  served  only  in  the  home  guard  of  the  town. 
However,  the  man  we  want  is  among  them." 

Danie  said  no  more,  and  moved  toward  the 
Kaffirs  with  the  Englishman. 

Major  Campbell  looked  sharply  over  them  as 
they  rose  from  their  seats  upon  the  ground. 
"Kalaza!"  he  called. 

280 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

A  small,  ugly  native  with  beady  eyes  stepped 
forward,  and  saluted. 

"Kalaza,"  the  officer  continued,  "do  you  re- 
member when  I  sent  you  with  a  letter  to  a  farm 
in  the  Ermelo  district  just  after  the  British 
troops  had  entered  the  Transvaal  at  Volksrust?  " 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  Kaffir,  stolidly. 

"Did  you  deliver  it?" 

"Yes,  sir." 
'"""Do  you  remember  to  whom  you  gave  it?" 

The  little  Kaffir  looked  the  Englishman 
blandly  in  the  eye.  "I  gave  it  to  an  old  man 
with  a  long  white  beard,  sir.  There  were  three 
girls  there  who  were  surely  his  daughters  " — 

"  Stop ! ' '  interrupted  Danie.  "  What  letter— 
what  farm  was  this?" 

"  The  name  of  the  farm  was  Blaauwkop,  and 
the  name  of  the  old  man  was  Uys,"  answered 
the  Kaffir,  slowly,  shifting  his  small  eyes  for 
a  second  to  Danie's  face,  but  dropping  them 
immediately  to  the  ground. 

"There,"  began  the  major;  but  Danie  did 
not  listen.     Seizing  the  man's  arm  in  a  hand 
like  a  vise,  he  drew  him  slowly  toward  him. 
281 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"You  black  villain,"  he  said  harshly,  "I 
know  you  are  lying!  If  you  do  not  answer 
truly  every  question  I  put  to  you,  I  will 
first  have  you  stripped  of  your  uniform,  out 
of  a  respect  for  it  which  those  who  put  it 
on  you  never  had,  and  then  I  will  have  one 
of  my  men  bring  his  sjambok  and  cut  your 
back  slowly  to  pieces!  Do  not  forget  that 
you  are  absolutely  in  my  power."  He  went 
on  heedless  of  the  startled  major's  protests 
at  his  energy  of  language.  "Now,"  he  said, 
"first,  to  what  farm  were  you  sent  with  the 
letter?" 

The  native  shivered  at  the  threat.  "The 
name  of  the  farm  was  Blaauwkop,  baas,"  he 
answered,  dropping  instinctively  into  the  use 
of  the  title  he  associated  with  those  who  had 
first  taught  him  the  fear  of  God. 

"To  whom  did  you  deliver  the  letter?" 

"To  no  one,  baas." 

The  astonished  major  heard  this  revelation 
of  iniquity,  and  all  at  once  ceased  his  protest. 
Danie  drew  a  long  breath,  and  loosened  his 
grip  a  little. 

282 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"  Ah!  that  is  better,"  he  said  at  last.  " Then 
you  did  not  deliver  the  letter?" 

"Yes,  baas." 

"Well,  what  did  you  do  with  it?"  thundered 
the  exasperated  Boer. 

"Oh,  baas,  do  not  be  angry  with  me.  The 
house  was  burning,  and  I  laid  it  on  the  door- 
step." 

Danie's  face  whitened.  Suddenly  all  the  de- 
tails of  the  dreadful  scene  as  related  to  him  by 
old  Maliwe  rose,  adjuring  and  vindictive 
ghosts,  in  his  mind.  He  released  his  grip  on 
the  Kaffir's  shoulder,  and  towered  above  him 
with  nervous  fingers.  "Dog,"  he  said  in  a 
terrible  voice,  "was  it  thou  who  slew  the  boy, 
the  innocent?" 

The  trembling  Kaffir  sank  to  his  knees  on 
the  ground  with  an  ashen  face.  "No,  baas,  no, 
it  was  not  I.  I  had  but  arrived  to  deliver  the 
letter,  and  others  drove  away  the  family  and 
slew  the  boy,  burning  the  house.  It  was  not 
I!" 

"Tell  me  the  truth,  dog!  Was  it  one  in  thy 
company?" 

283 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Yes,  baas,"  whimpered  the  Kaffir:  "it  was 
a  policeman." 

Danie  seized  him,  and  jerked  him  to  his  feet. 
"Look  about,"  he  commanded,  "and  see  if 
he  is  here.  If  he  is,  point  him  out  to  me!" 

The  other  licked  his  dry  lips.  "I  dare  not," 
he  whispered.  "He  would  kill  me." 

"Fear  not,"  said  Danie,  grimly.  "He  will 
die  first." 

Slowly  and  silently  the  Kaffir  turned  and 
pointed  his  finger  toward  one  of  his  fellows, 
a  tall,  burly  black,  who  stood  about  ten  paces 
off,  regarding  the  little  group  with  sullen  and 
suspicious  eyes. 

Danie  turned,  and  called  to  some  of  his  own 
men  who  were  standing  talking  to  several  of 
then*  prisoners  on  the  edge  of  the  green.  They 
came  running  up.  Major  Campbell  hi  his  turn 
laid  an  anxious  hand  on  his  friend's  arm. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  he  asked 
quickly. 

"  Hang  him  within  three  minutes,"  answered 
Danie,  briefly,  "  if  he  is  the  man.    Come  here, 
you!"  he  shouted,  beckoning  to  the  fellow. 
284 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  Kaffir  moved  slowly  forward,  his  eye 
shifting  between  his  captor  and  his  accuser. 

"What  is  your  name?"  demanded  the  Boer. 

The  man  glanced  at  him.  "Jim  Kond- 
wana,"  he  answered  sullenly. 

Danie's  eyes  gleamed.  "You  killed  a  boy 
at  Blaauwkop  in  Ermelo,"  he  began. 

But  the  Kaffir  understood.  With  the  spring 
of  a  lion  he  had  driven  his  Judas  to  the  ground 
••""face  foremost,  and,  kneeling  on  his  back, 
grasped  his  head  with  both  hands  and  wrenched 
it  backward  with  so  fierce  and  quick  a  motion 
that  it  lay  limply  resting  between  the  victim's 
shoulder  blades,  its  fading  eyes  gazing  straight 
at  the  sky  above,  before  even  a  single  shriek 
could  issue  from  between  its  miserable  lips.  A 
dozen  forms  hurled  themselves  upon  the 
murderer,  a  dozen  arms  seized  him.  But  the 
deed  was  done. 

Danie  cleared  a  space  through  the  crowd  to 
the  nearest  tree.  Behind  him  was  borne  the 
roaring  Kaffir,  struggling  furiously,  but  fu- 
tilely,  in  the  hands  of  his  Transvaal  guardians. 
A  rope  was  immediately  procured,  and  within 
285 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

a  few  short  moments  the  wretch  hung  twitching 
from  its  end. 

Leaving  a  guard  at  the  tree,  so  that  the  body 
should  not  be  interfered  with,  Danie  walked 
silently  back  to  the  hotel  to  write  his  letter  to 
Bettie.  It  was  not  without  an  almost  savage 
thrill  of  joy  that  he  concluded  his  tale  with  an 
account  of  the  summary  vengeance  he  had 
just  executed  upon  the  slayer  of  little  Gert. 

At  noon  his  prisoners  were  marched  out  of 
Hopeton  under  guard  on  their  way  to  the 
Orange  Free  State,  while  their  officers  were 
sent  south  toward  Cradock,  Major  Campbell 
with  the  letter  for  Bettie  in  his  pocket.  In 
another  hour  the  commando  followed  them 
out  of  the  little  town,  and  turned  to  the  west- 
ward after  it  had  crossed  a  few  miles  of  the 
veldt. 

But  hi  the  green  square  at  Hopeton  the 
body  of  Jim  Kondwana  swung  dangling  from 
its  tree  all  that  day,  for  no  one  dared  to  touch 
it.  And  all  through  the  night  the  tree  groaned 
and  whispered  to  the  winds  that  blew  of  the 
dreadful  burden  of  its  fruit. 
286 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THE  wide  waste  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Cape  Colony  known  as  "The  Ghouph," 
and  the  broad  desert  below  itj — the  "Great 
Karroo,"— are,  except  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
almost  untraversable  by  man.  At  all  other 
seasons  a  dismal  scarcity  of  water  secludes 
these  regions  from  the  paths  and  habitations 
"of  nearly  all  animals  endowed  with  either 
reason  or  instinct.  Even  Nature  herself  ap- 
pears to  withdraw  from  the  poisonous  waste; 
for  its  only  growths  are  the  low  karroobosje 
and  a  few  other  species  of  brush  that  gather 
together  in  dark  patches  on  the  face  of  the 
desert,  as  if  for  mutual  protection.  In  the 
South  African  spring,  for  a  short  time  during 
and  after  the  rains, — which  fall  over  this  dark 
section  of  the  continent  but  once  a  year, — 
these  bushes  luxuriate  in  bright  green  leaves 
and  brilliant  flowers,  coloured  like  the  rainbow. 
Then  strange  blossoms,  bright  and  beautiful, — 
the  gousblom,  the  angeliertje,  etc., — rise  like 
fairies  over  night  in  the  deep  hollows  (laagtes) 
287 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  river-beds,  and  fill  the  surrounding  air  with 
such  sweetness  that,  with  closed  eyes,  it  is  al- 
most impossible  for  the  traveller  to  believe 
that  he  is  not  in  one  of  Nature's  paradises. 

But  in  a  month,  or  two  at  the  most,  this 
illusion  of  beauty  is  transformed  again  into  the 
likeness  of  a  grave;  and  for  the  rest  of  the 
year  the  suffocating  sun  unintermittently 
parches  and  burns  its  surface;  the  streams 
and  rivers  disappear  suddenly  into  the  sand, 
leaving  only  a  few  rolled  stones  in  uncertain  gul- 
lies to  indicate  their  past  and  future  presences; 
the  fresh  winds  from  the  sea,  only  sixty  miles 
to  the  south,  desert  the  dry  barrens  for  fresher 
pastures;  and  all  life  once  more  avoids  the 
flowerless,  greenless  waste.  Only  the  railroad 
that  cuts  across  its  western  end,  shrinking  be- 
neath the  shadow  and  protection  of  the  Winter 
Berg,  the  desert's  northern  boundary,  and  the 
far,  thin  trails  of  smoke  that  sometimes  show 
among  the  tops  of  the  dim,  blue  mountains  that 
entirely  surround  the  Karroo  and  the  Ghouph, 
mark  the  presence  of  life  on  or  near  their  treach- 
erous faces. 

288 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Keeping  well  to  the  westward,  the  invading 
commando  passed  along  the  spurs  of  the  Zour 
Bergen,  crossing  and  cutting  the  railroad  just 
south  of  Naauw  Port.  They  held  their  west- 
ern course  as  far  as  Richmond,  where  Danie 
made  a  demonstration;  but,  finding  that  he 
could  effect  nothing,  and  that  further  delay 
might  subject  him  to  the  dangerous  attack  of 
a  large  British  column  which  was  being  rushed 
^-forward  to  intercept  him,  he  turned  suddenly 
south,  and  passed  through  the  valley  at  Nels 
Poort  into  the  Great  Karroo. 

The  rainy  season  was  still  on,  although  it 
was  now  liable  to  come  to  an  end  with  almost 
any  week.  At  Nels  Poort  and  in  the  valley 
south  of  the  Winter  Berg  he  removed  and 
destroyed  more  than  five  miles  of  the  telegraph, 
poles  and  all,  cutting  the  wire  into  sections  and 
transporting  them  and  the  poles  back  to  Nels 
Poort,  where  with  the  little  wooden  station, 
the  wire,  the  poles,  and  almost  half  a  mile  of 
the  single  railroad  track,  ties  and  irons,  he 
built  a  beautiful  bonfire  to  celebrate  his  devo- 
tion to  his  country. 

289 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Danie's  intention  was,  after  crossing  the 
desert,  to  ride  eastward  along  the  narrow  strip 
of  coast  that,  with  its  fertile  lands  and  many 
little  towns,  lay  between  the  desert  and  the 
sea, — to  ride  perhaps  as  far  as  the  Transkei.  He 
would  pick  up  the  necessities,  even  the  lux- 
uries of  life,  including  all  the  fresh  horses  he 
should  require,  along  the  way.  He  would  cross 
the  desert  to  Willowmore,  then  south  to  Union- 
dale,  then  east.  Everything  would  lie  open 
to  him,  the  Unexpected.  Port  Elizabeth  would 
lie  in  his  path,  and  the  other  towns  on  Algoa 
Bay.  Then  Bathurst,  Grahamstown,  per- 
haps Port  Alfred,  and  King  William's  Town 
and  Alice,  or  East  London,  another  railroad 
terminal  on  the  coast.  Then  north  along  the 
Tsomo  River  through  Barkly  East,  and  back 
into  the  Orange  Free  State  right  at  the  border 
of  Basuto  Land.  An  enticing  programme. 
He  could  be  at  home  in  the  Transvaal  before 
the  winter  set  in.  And  who  knew? — the  Eng- 
lish might  withdraw  even  as  many  as  ten 
thousand  men  from  the  two  Republics  to  send 
against  him.  Why,  he  might  have  a  thousand 
290 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

men  himself  inside  the  month.  The  young  Cape 
Colony  Boers  were  fine  fellows,  and  there  were 
many  of  them.  Their  sympathies  were  strong 
and  of  the  right  kind;  and  they  were  ready, 
even  anxious,  to  enlist  with  him.  He  had 
already  added  fifty  of  them  to  his  commando. 
But,  in  any  case,  he  felt  sure  his  numbers  as 
well  as  his  successes  would  be  tremendously 
magnified  by  the  weakened  and  frightened 
people  over  whom  he  would  gain  the  latter. 
So  that,  even  if  their  exaggerations  alone 
should  suffice  to  draw  southward  in  pursuit  of 
him  a  respectable  portion  of  the  enemy's  force, 
he  would  at  least  have  freed  his  country  and 
her  ally  of  some  of  their  burden,  and  could  by 
so  much  be  satisfied. 

Thus  ran  the  young  leader's  thoughts  as  he 
began  his  journey  south  across  the  desert.  His 
commando  was  strong  in  numbers  and  in  fine 
condition.  During  the  three  weeks  that  had 
passed  since  his  capture  of  Hopeton  he  had 
replaced  all  his  mounts  (even  his  thirty  extra 
horses)  with  fresh,  strong  animals,  unworn  by 
long  war-service, — the  very  cream  of  the  hun- 
291 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

dreds  he  had  had  under  his  hand  since  he 
had  been  in  the  Cape  Colony. 

Although  the  desert  still  bloomed,  the  rains 
of  the  season  were  falling  at  longer  and  longer 
intervals.  The  streams  were  beginning  to  sub- 
side, and  became  more  and  more  infrequent 
as  the  commando  advanced.  Danie  judged 
it  wiser  to  divide  his  force,  and  proceed  in  two 
parallel  lines  of  march  several  miles  apart,  the 
two  divisions  to  be  rejoined  at  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Great  Karroo.  He  gave  the 
command  of  the  second  division  to  his  oldest 
lieutenant,  Koos  Nel,  who  had  served  him 
as  veldt-cornet  in  the  old  Lydenburg  com- 
mando at  the  time  of  its  raid  into  Ermelo. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  third  day,  when  the 
two  commandos  were  nearing  the  hills  that  lay 
north  of  Willowmore  and  had  begun  to  breathe 
the  fresher,  purer  air  of  the  mountains,  Danie 
was  suddenly  notified  by  his  advance  scouts 
of  the  approach  of  a  large  British  column  from 
the  direction  of  Willowmore  and  the  railroad. 
His  plans  were  for  the  time  being  completely 
upset.  He  halted  his  column,  and  sent  mes- 
292 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

sengers  to  Nel,  warning  him  of  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  and  urging  him  to  rejoin  with 
his  men  at  once.  But  Nel  was  miles  away 
and  out  of  sight;  and  long  before  he  arrived, 
or  could  arrive,  Danie  was  forced  to  move 
from  his  position,  and  take  up  a  new  one  far 
to  the  south-west,  among  the  Prince  Albert 
mountains.  At  nightfall  he  had  fixed  his 
laager  near  the  entrance  of  a  small  rocky  valley 
..'•between  two  spurs  that  ran  out  into  the  Karroo. 
These  spurs  were  so  precipitous  that  they  were 
practically  inaccessible  from  their  outer  sides, 
so  that  he  felt  comparatively  safe  for  the  night. 
But  the  men  were  worn  and  tired  from  their 
dusty,  depressing  march  along  the  edge  of  the 
desert,  into  which  they  had  suddenly  been 
driven  back  just  as  they  thought  they  had 
finished  with  its  hardships  for  good  and  all. 

The  weary  Boers  occupied  and,  as  well  as 
they  could,  strengthened  their  new  position 
while  the  sun  was  descending,  a  bloody  ball, 
behind  the  western  ranges.  But  between  the 
crevice-like  neks  that  split  the  jagged  moun- 
tain tops  its  fiery  rays  still  lighted  the  broad, 
293 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

dusty  flats  into  which  the  valley  opened.  And 
across  these  flats  the  pursuing  English  were 
spreading  rapidly  into  a  fanlike  order  of  attack. 
Two  small  batteries,  just  out  of  sight  behind 
the  spurs  that  protected  the  valley,  were  al- 
ready seeking  the  range  of  the  laager  with  ten- 
tative shells,  evidently  corrected,  to  judge 
from  the  improvement  in  their  fall,  by  obser- 
vations made  from  the  flats  in  the  Boers' 
front. 

To  Danie's  surprise,  everything  seemed  to 
indicate  that  the  English,  not  content  with 
having  cornered  him,  intended  to  attack  him 
that  evening.  A  large  battalion  of  mounted 
infantry  was  being  dismounted  just  out  of 
range,  and  was  very  evidently  preparing  for 
immediate  action,  while  cavalry  skirmishers 
were  already  deploying  in  front  of  his  position. 
The  cannonade  was  becoming  fast  and  furious, 
although  as  not  yet  destructive.  He  had  sent 
his  horses  nearly  a  mile  up  the  valley,  and  his 
men  were  experts  in  finding  cover. 

"There  is  not  more  than  half  an  hour  of 
daylight  left,"  said  Danie  to  himself  as  he 
294 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

glanced  up  at  the  sky.  "They  are  going  to 
make  their  attack  at  once." 

Hardly  had  the  thought  passed  through  his 
mind  when  the  cavalry  skirmishers  disappeared 
toward  the  sides  in  the  direction  of  the  con- 
cealed batteries;  and  a  long,  thin  line  of  men 
rose  from  among  the  thick  bosjes  behind  them, 
and  swept,  silently  converging,  toward  the 
mouth  of  the  valley.  When  they  had  arrived 
^within  three  hundred  yards,  the  Boers  opened 
a  steady  but  irregular  fire  upon  then*  ranks, 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  line  wavered,  halted, 
and  broke,  leaving  a  large  number  of  dead 
and  wounded  where  they  fell.  The  Boer  fire 
died  down  to  a  few  scattered  shots,  and  then  all 
was  silent.  With  the  repulse  of  the  infantry 
the  artillery  had  suddenly  ceased. 

Danie  walked  up  and  down  from  group  to 
group,  laughing  and  joking. 

"Well,  boys,  that  must  have  made  them 
pretty  sick.  If  they  are  foolish  enough  to 
come  again  before  dark,  we  will  give  them 
some  more."  He  stopped  before  a  little  party 
of  six  who  were  engaged,  behind  a  well-sheltered 
295 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  far-retired  boulder,  with  a  dirty,  well- 
thumbed  pack  of  cards  and  six  glowing,  com- 
fortable pipes.  "Here,  you  lazy  kerels,  bestir 
yourselves."  He  bent,  and  felt  of  the  barrels 
of  the  rifles  leaning  up  against  the  stone.  They 
were  cold.  "You  lazy  devils  have  not  fired 
a  shot.  But  I  will  give  you  something  to  do. 
I  can  make  you  useful,  even  if  you  think  you 
are  too  good  to  fight.  Now  you  six  get  up, 
drop  your  cards,  and  make  us  all  some  hot 
coffee.  See  that  every  man  gets  his,  and 
bring  me  mine  last." 

They  grinned  up  at  him,  and  rose  to  do  his 
bidding.  He  went  on. 

As  he  reached  the  extreme  right  of  his  line, 
the  English  guns  suddenly  reopened  with  ter- 
rific rapidity  of  service.  The  bursting  shells 
covered  the  Boer  position  with  smoke  and  dust. 
He  turned,  and  ran  back  toward  the  centre  of 
the  little  valley.  Right  ahead  of  him,  still  be- 
hind their  boulder,  the  six  card-players  sat 
grouped  about  a  new-made  fire,  engaged  in  pre- 
paring the  coffee  he  had  ordered.  They  were 
still  laughing,  and,  as  he  could  see,  were  pay- 
296 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ing  no  attention  to  the  renewed  shell-fire,  ap- 
parently with  the  feeling  that,  as  long  as  they 
were  not  in  the  fighting  line,  it  concerned  them 
nothing.  As  he  was  almost  upon  them,  as  he 
leaned  his  body  to  one  side  to  avoid  them  in 
his  run,  he  heard  a  fierce  whir  of  infinitesimal 
shortness, — before  his  very  eyes  a  great  mass  of 
fluffy,  bright  yellow  cotton  evolved  from  noth- 
ing directly  above  their  heads, — it  streaked  and 
-"circled  with  red, — there  was  a  tremendous  crash! 
For  the  briefest  fraction  of  a  second  he  had  a 
horrible  vision  of  a  world  full  of  doubled  and 
disjointed,  of  broken  and  contorted  men,  of 
dirt  and  dust  and  ashes  and  flaming  brands,  all 
suspended  in  a  horrible  golden  haze.  Then 
the  world  went  black. 

When  he  woke  to  consciousness,  it  seemed 
to  him  as  if  hours  had  passed.  In  reality  it 
was  but  seconds.  He  was  lying  on  his  back, 
bent  across  the  round  top  of  the  great  boulder; 
his  eyes  smarted  fearfully;  his  mouth  was  open, 
his  tongue  and  throat  dry  and  burning,  except 
where  at  one  of  the  corners  a  little  stream  was 
pouring  into  the  hollow  of  his  cheek.  With 
297 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

much  care  and  as  much  pain  he  gradually  sat 
up,  to  find,  to  his  relief,  that  no  bones  were 
broken,  and  that  his  face  was  bloody  from  what 
was  merely  an  unimportant  scalp  wound.  He 
began  to  see,  although  his  eyes  still  smarted 
fiercely.  He  slipped  down  from  the  boulder  to 
fall  in  a  helpless  heap  upon  the  ground,  so  un- 
steady were  his  joints.  But  he  picked  himself 
up,  and  looked  around.  His  brain  cleared  it- 
self of  confusion,  and  recollection  returned  to 
him. 

Where  the  fire  had  burned,  a  great  gash  was 
torn  in  the  earth.  At  the  bottom  of  the  ragged 
hole  a  naked  human  fore  arm,  with  the  shat- 
tered bone  of  the  elbow  protruding  from  its 
upper  end,  lay  amid  some  few  charred  sticks 
of  wood,  still  clasping  in  its  stiffened  fingers  a 
twisted  iron  ladle.  Within  a  radius  of  twenty 
paces  of  the  spot  six  torn  and  mangled  bodies, 
almost  unrecognisable  as  human  earth,  defiled 
the  grass.  The  acrid  fumes  of  the  lyddite  still 
hung  heavily  in  the  air.  The  corpses,  the 
ground  itself,  his  own  hands  as  he  looked  at 
them,  were  tinged  with  its  yellow.  His  ears 
298 


"  '/'"•"  <n-t>at  lines  of  cavalry  were  sweeping 
in  at  a  full  gallop  "  (seepage  299) 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

began  to  recover  from  the  shock  of  the  explo- 
sion; and  the  continuous  thunder  of  the  guns, 
the  crashes  of  the  bursting  shells,  once  more 
conveyed  then*  meaning  to  his  mind.  He  re- 
membered his  errand,  and  ran  on. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  middle  of  his  posi- 
tion, he  brushed  the  dirt  and  blood  from  his 
eyes,  and  looked  out  into  the  open  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  little  valley.  Two  great  lines  of 
Cavalry  were  sweeping  in  toward  him  at  a  full 
gallop.  They  had  already  reached  the  entrance 
of  the  dell,  and  were  between  the  two  cape-like 
spurs  which  projected  into  the  desert.  A  strange 
feeling  as  if  of  the  annihilation  of  time  and 
space  swept  over  him.  He  could  have  believed 
that  he  was  again  before  Dundee,  watching  that 
last,  fierce  charge  of  the  lancers  that  had 
ended  by  driving  his  little  remnant  from  the 
ridge  they  had  held  so  long,  and  in  sending  him 
into  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  As  he 
had  done  on  the  day  he  remembered  so  strangely 
well,  he  now  ran  up  and  down  behind  his  men, 
urging  them,  cheering  them,  cautioning  them. 
But  these  men  lost  none  of  their  steadiness. 
299 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  sight  of  the  rapidly  nearing,  foaming,  yell- 
ing line  of  horsemen,  served  only  to  make 
themselves  cooler,  their  fire  more  murderous. 
Up  to  within  one  hundred  yards  the  mad 
charge  was  led.  Then  the  cavalry,  as  if  by 
unanimous  consent,  broke  and  fled  before  the 
withering  sheets  of  lead  and  steel  they  could 
no  longer  face.  With  their  flight,  as  with  that 
of  the  infantry  which  had  preceded  it,  the 
spitting  guns  were  hushed.  And,  as  if  it  had 
been  waiting  for  the  action  to  end,  the  sun 
finally  disappeared.  Night  had  fallen  at  last. 

In  a  short  time  the  camp-fires  of  the  English 
began  to  flicker  out  through  the  darkness  on 
the  desert.  Danie  lighted  his  own.  He  knew 
that  his  enemies  believed  that  they  had  him 
finally  penned,  and  that  in  all  probability, 
taking  a  leaf  from  the  Boers'  own  book,  they 
would  renew  their  attack  with  the  dawn.  He 
also  knew  that,  although  he  had  lost  but  the 
six  men  he  himself  had  seen  killed,  he  could 
not  possibly  hold  out  for  many  hours  in  the 
face  of  such  overwhelming  power.  So  he  re- 
sorted to  a  page  in  that  same  book  which  the 
300 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

English  had  not  yet  turned,  and  determined 
to  circumvent  them.  He  sent  three  of  his 
ablest  scouts  to  find  their  way  over  the  hills 
and  to  the  other  division  under  Lieutenant  Nel, 
who  must  have  retired  or  been  driven  into  the 
mountains  a  dozen  miles  to  the  east.  To  him 
they  were  to  report  Danie's  position,  and  to 
state  that  within  a  few  hours,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble for  man  or  beast  to  compass  it,  their  com- 
'•inander  would  follow  them  through  the  hills 
to  join  him.  Having  despatched  them  on  their 
desperate  errand,  Danie  turned  his  attention 
to  the  commando,  saw  that  the  horses  were 
fed  and  watered,  that  the  dead  were  duly 
buried,  the  living  heartened  and  made  comfort- 
able, and  the  position  carefully  guarded  against 
a  night  surprise.  Then,  weakened  as  he  was 
by  the  shock  that  had  so  nearly  cost  his  life, 
and  worn  out  with  his  exertions,  he  fell  into 
a  deep  sleep. 

Three  hours  later  he  began  to  withdraw  his 
men  quietly  and  in  small  sections  up  the  val- 
ley.    He  appointed  a  small  guard  to  remain 
at  the  laager  for  an  hour  after  his  departure  to 
301 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

keep  the  fires  well  fed,  and  to  leave  them  at 
last  in  such  condition  that  they  would  burn 
fairly  evenly  until  morning.  By  midnight  the 
commando  had  crossed  the  ridge  of  the  hills 
behind  the  valley,  and  was  making  its  way 
eastward  on  the  other  side  of  the  slope  as  fast 
as  the  darkness  would  allow.  His  evasion  had 
been  so  silently,  so  skilfully  conducted  that  no 
suspicion  of  it  disturbed  the  English  until  his 
laager  was  discovered  empty  and  cold  at  dawn, 
at  which  time  Danie,  having  rejoined  his  lieu- 
tenant, was  trekking  westward  again  across 
the  Great  Karroo  ten  miles  in  rear  of  the  camp 
of.  his  attackers. 

The  game  was  stolen  away:  they  could  not 
even  find  its  spoor;  and  the  pursuit  was  not 
renewed  until  several  days  had  given  the  com- 
mando full  opportunity  to  recuperate  after  its 
hard  fight  and  its  long,  wearing  march. 


302 


CHAPTER    VII. 


IN  the  great  hills  south  of  Prince  Albert — 
the  mountains  that  separate  the  Karroo 
from  the  Olifant's  River  valley  below — lies,  al- 
most between  the  topmost  peaks,  a  cup-shaped 
depression  in  the  ridge,  a  green  little  dale  down 
whose  sides  trickle  the  rivulets  which,  combin- 
ing on  the  southern  slope,  form  the  source  of 
"one  of  the  Olifant's  minor  tributaries.  To  this 
secluded  harbourage  the  Transvaal  commando 
of  Danie  Linde  was  led,  and  here  it  rested  for 
ten  days  undisturbed.  Its  commander,  who 
had  suffered  more  by  the  explosion  of  the  shell 
than  he  had  cared  to  acknowledge  or  even  to 
believe,  had  succumbed  to  a  general  collapse  and 
a  rising  fever  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at 
a  place  of  comparative  safety.  His  faithful 
lieutenant,  Nel,  had  discovered  a  high  moun- 
tain farm  lying  just  outside  of  the  valley  at 
the  side  of  the  infant  stream.  His  reckless  in- 
quiries had  fortunately  developed  the  fact  that 
it  belonged  to  a  Cape  Colony  Boer  named  Van 
Niekerk,  who,  though  fearing  openly  to  express 
303 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  sympathies,  was  a  thorough  rebel  at  heart. 
To  this  farm  he  transported  Danie,  taking 
charge  himself  of  the  commando  and  arranging 
for  the  most  careful  guard  to  be  kept  over  their 
as  yet  unsuspected  retreat. 

Danie's  needs  were,  like  those  of  the  com- 
mando itself,  better  salved  by  the  period  of 
complete  rest  and  quiet  than  they  could  have 
been  by  any  of  the  medicaments  of  man.  Ease 
and  sleep  and  good  food  and  day-dreaming  at 
the  white  clouds  that  sailed  overhead  during 
the  long  afternoons  did  as  much  for  him  as  the 
tender  nursing  of  the  women  of  the  household. 
At  the  end  of  a  week  he  felt  himself  again. 
His  jaded  horses,  after  seven  days  of  peaceful 
grazing  on  the  rich  green  carpet  of  the  slopes, 
were  once  more  in  condition.  The  men  had 
recovered  their  spirits.  He  had,  to  their  full- 
est extent,  regained  his  own;  and  he  felt  that 
it  was  time  for  him  to  be  up  and  doing.  But 
his  officers,  affectionately  solicitous,  persuaded 
him  to  remain  three  days  longer  hi  the  restful 
comfort  of  the  Van  Niekerk  home.  He  con- 
sented. 

304 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Once  again,  notwithstanding  his  reverse  and 
his  enforced  retreat  westward,  he  began  to  lay 
his  plans  for  a  long  raid  up  the  easterly  coast. 
He  spent  many  hours  looking  south  toward 
Oudtshoorn,  ten  miles  away,  where  the  railroad 
curved  up  from  the  coast  into  the  valley  of  the 
Olifant.  He  thought  at  first  of  making  his 
descent  from  the  mountains  in  that  direction, 
but  his  friendly  hosts  dissuaded  him.  Oudts- 
K-hoorn,  they  said,  was  well  garrisoned, — chiefly 
in  his  honour, — and  other  bodies  of  troops  were 
known  to  be  stationed  in  the  valley  and  along 
the  railroad.  He  realised  that,  once  in  the 
narrow  valley  of  the  Olifant,  escape  would  prove 
almost  impossible,  should  he  be  attacked  in 
force;  that,  once  across  the  railroad  and  the 
river,  absolute  success  would  have  to  attend 
his  battles,  or  he  would  be  subject  either  to 
capture  or  to  annihilation.  He  finally  and  re- 
luctantly decided  that  the  safer,  if  not  the 
only,  chance  of  winning  his  way  to  the  south- 
eastern coast  lay  in  once  more  tempting  the 
Karroo  flats, — where  he  would  have  ample  space 
in  which  to  fight  or  to  run, — and  in  retracing 
305 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  steps  toward  Willowmore,  where  he  could 
resume  his  originally  projected  but  interrupted 
line  of  march.  So  on  the  eleventh  day  the 
commando  broke  its  comfortable  camp,  and 
trekked  out  of  its  refuge  through  the  same  pass 
by  which  it  had  entered. 

The  morning  had  broken  wild  and  uncer- 
tain. Slate-blue  clouds,  mingling  near  the 
horizon  with  others  of  a  darker,  angrier  tint, 
covered  the  sky.  A  sharp,  gusty  wind  from 
the  south-east  drove  these  clouds  unevenly  be- 
fore it,  like  flocks  of  frightened  sheep,  across 
the  heavens.  Occasionally  through  the  gaps 
in  the  struggling  herd  the  fitful  sun  gleamed 
forth,  as  if  with  but  one  eye,  illumining  the 
ragged  cliffs  of  the  mountain  side,  the  green 
sweeps  of  the  outstanding  ridges,  and  the  dry 
desert  beyond  with  irregular  blotches  of  a  pale 
and  sickly  yellow.  About  mid-afternoon  they 
re-entered  the  wide  expanse  of  the  Great 
Karroo.  The  wind  slackened,  and  within  an 
hour  died  completely  down.  Far  to  the  south 
behind  them  rose  an  occasional  murmur  of 
thunder,  like  the  distant  ruffle  of  many  drums. 
306 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

It  grew  darker  and  darker,  and  the  thunder 
increased.  Soon  big  drops  of  rain  began  to 
fall,  and  the  wind  rose  again,  driving  these, 
intermingled  with  hail-stones,  mercilessly  into 
the  face  of  man  and  beast.  But  the  darkness 
was  so  intense  that  the  men  were  obliged  to 
disregard  this  inconvenience,  and  to  keep  their 
faces  uplifted,  their  eyes  open,  in  order  to  avoid 
breaking  the  line  or  losing  touch  with  their 
comrades.  The  thunder  now  became  continu- 
ous and  terrific.  An  unbroken  sheet  of  rain 
and  hail  streamed  almost  horizontally  across 
the  plain  from  the  cold  south.  Danie  made 
a  desperate  attempt  to  turn  back  to  the  shelter 
of  the  hills  the  commando  had  left  scarcely 
an  hour  before.  The  horses,  however,  could 
not  be  brought  to  face  the  storm  of  ice  and 
water.  Indeed,  it  was  almost  more  than 
human  flesh  and  blood  could  stand.  So  he 
was  compelled  to  give  it  u*p,  and  keep  to  his 
northerly  course  into  the  waste. 

Suddenly   the   furious   thunder   ceased,   the 
wind  broke,  the  bitter  stream  of  sleet  shook, 
flapped  like  a  sail  in  the  wind,  and  fell  drizzling 
307 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

to  the  ground.  The  sky  lifted  and  lightened. 
Everything  was  hushed.  It  seemed  as  if 
Nature,  ashamed  at  lashing  with  the  tempest 
of  her  rage  so  mean,  so  helpless,  so  unresisting 
a  creature  as  man,  had  on  a  sudden  impulse 
withdrawn  to  her  chamber,  her  silent  spaces, 
and  left  her  elements  to  steal  or  sneak  away 
as  best  they  might  according  to  their  kinds. 
But  she  had  not  laid  aside  her  tools.  She  was 
but  taking  breath  for  a  final  effort,  preparing 
an  exhibition  of  her  weirdest  might,  equipping 
to  eclipse  all  her  previous  performance.  From 
the  very  bosom  of  the  mountains  out  of  which 
the  commando  itself  had  but  lately  emerged,  a 
cloud  of  the  colour  of  ashes  and  funnel-shaped 
arose.  Swaying  gently,  as  if  in  the  remnant 
of  the  retiring  wind,  it  pirouetted  for  a  few 
moments  like  a  dancer  on  one  toe,  and  then 
swept  down  the  mountain  side,  whirling,  roar- 
ing, yet  still  dancing  daintily.  The  very  air 
seemed  to  give  way  before  it.  As  it  approached, 
it  could  be  seen  that  its  dance  steps  were  mon- 
strous leaps  and  bounds  of  at  times  hundreds 
of  feet  in  length.  Wherever  it  touched  or  came 
308 


UNDEK    THE    VIERKLEUR 

near  to  the  ground,  it  sucked  up  or  hurled  afar 
rocks,  sand,  bushes.  Within  its  enormous  cup 
dreadful  lightnings  played,  and  great  trees  and 
boulders  were  tossed  from  side  to  side  and  up 
into  the  air,  like  balls  in  a  hollow  jet  of  water. 
Around  its  base  great  circles  of  material  torn 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth  revolved  in  ever- 
rising  spirals,  melting  into  the  towering  horror 
above  when  they  had  climbed  the  dizzy  height 
*5F  its  stem.  It  swayed  and  swung  in  its  course 
like  a  giant  flower;  it  pitched  erratically  like 
an  ill-flown  kite.  Every  now  and  then  it  shook 
the  lightnings  from  its  bowl  in  its  tortuous  con- 
vulsions, and  they  darted  to. the  ground  at  its 
foot  like  escaped  serpents,  splashing  wide  fire 
where  they  struck. 

The  men,  terrified  beyond  measure  at  so 
dire,  so  menacing  a  manifestation,  crowded  to- 
gether hi  fear  and  disorder.  When  it  was  al- 
most upon  them,  they  lost  all  sense  of  organ- 
isation or  direction,  and,  scarcely  able  to  man- 
age their  snorting,  plunging,  sweating  horses, 
broke  into  maddened  flight  before  it.  But  it 
was  too  late,  if,  indeed,  escape  had  at  any 
309 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

time  been  possible.  The  Thing  leaped  at  their 
mass.  They  were  immediately  enveloped  in  a 
Stygian  night  of  dust  and  sand  and  stones. 
They  were  beaten  with  flying  solids,  balls  of 
blue  electric  fire  burst  and  blazed  and  spattered 
in  their  midst. 

It  was  all  over  in  a  moment.  Through  the 
dense  wall  of  rain  that  followed  it  behind,  those 
who  were  still  standing  or  mounted  could 
scarcely  see  it  as  it  bounded  off  into  the  dark- 
ness of  the  desert. 

Danie  had  escaped  all  injury.  His  horse, 
plunging  and  struggling  in  the  black  confusion, 
had  thrown  him  heavily;  but  he  had  retained 
his  hold  on  the  bridle,  and,  as  the  agitated  air 
cleared,  prepared  to  remount.  The  poor  brute, 
however,  which  was  shaking  in  every  foam- 
covered  limb,  sank  to  its  haunches  as  he  placed 
his  foot  in  the  stirrup.  He  tried  to  pull  it  up; 
but  three  times  the  miserable  animal  fell  help- 
lessly back,  and  finally  rolled  over  on  its  side 
into  the  sand.  Danie  gave  it  up,  and  ran 
toward  the  nearest  group  of  men.  His  adju- 
tant, Redelinghuis,  was  one  of  them. 
310 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Where  is  Lieutenant  Nel?"  Danie  de- 
manded. "Are  you  all  here?  Ride  and  col- 
lect the  men,  Redelinghuis.  My  horse  is  dead. 
Oh,  the  poor  fellows!  Oh,  it  was  dreadful!" 

The  young  adjutant  rode  off,  swaying  diz- 
zily in  his  saddle. 

The  commando  was  slowly  gathered  together, 
some  of  its  number  on  foot.  Of  the  score  of  its 
members  who  were  found  senseless  on  the 
•ground,  six:  still  lay  stark  with  marble  faces, 
whom  neither  the  cold  rain  nor  their  com- 
rades' frantic  efforts  could  ever  awaken.  Nine 
horses  were  dead,  as  many  disappeared. 

The  burial  of  the  six  took  place  at  once  ac- 
cording to  command.  Their  common  grave 
was  dug  with  knives  and  trenching-tools  al- 
most where  they  fell,  and  the  soft  earth  laid 
over  them  was  covered  with  protecting  stones. 
Then  the  commando  rode  away  from  the 
dreadful  spot  with  heavy  hearts. 

Danie's  own  grief  was  intense.  The  loss  of 
six  brave  men  in  so  strange  and  unnatural  a 
fashion  seemed  to  him  infinitely  more  deplora- 
ble than  even  a  greater  sacrifice  in  battle.  He 
311 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

could  not  help  thinking  that  it  was  an  ill  hap- 
pening with  which  to  recommence  his  march 
to  the  coast,  an  evil  omen.  He  remembered 
with  an  additional  sinking  at  his  heart  the 
bloody  glow  that  overlay  the  Orange  River  at 
his  crossing,  and  how  deeply  it  had  impressed 
a  drear  significance  upon  his  mind.  He  re- 
membered how  mischance  uncalculated  had 
met  him,  to  prevent  his  passage  to  the  coast, 
in  the  very  valley  toward  which,  under  even 
more  dismal  auspices,  he  was  now  heading  for 
the  second  time.  He  cursed  himself  for  a 
superstitious  fool,  and  tried  to  remember  his 
success  at  Hopeton,  his  line  of  little  conquests 
the  other  side  of  the  desert,  the  gallantry  of 
his  men,  and  the  spirit  with  which  they  had 
followed  him  the  many  hundred  miles  of  their 
march  of  invasion. 

Ah!  but  how  about  that  spirit  now?  The 
thought  roused  him  from  his  gloom,  and  he 
rode  back  along  the  line.  He  recognised  with 
a  shock  that  he  was  not  alone  in  his  dark  mood. 
The  men  were  not  grumbling  in  their  usual 
jovial  discontent:  they  were  sullen  and  silent. 
312 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Some — though  none  of  those  from  his  old  com- 
mando— even  gazed  at  him  with  unmantled 
ill-will  as  he  passed  them,  as  if  he  were  to 
blame  for  their  misfortune  and  discomfort.  He 
stopped,  and  spoke  cheerily  to  these,  weighing 
his  words ;  but  he  saw  no  immediate  good  come 
of  it.  They  listened  to  him  with  downcast 
eyes  in  silence.  He  began  to  fear  that  half 
the  commando  would  refuse  to  follow  him  if 
-fee  tried  to  lead  them  further  south.  Almost 
in  despair  he  cantered  back  to  the  head  of  the 
column. 

The  expedition  was  now  once  more  on  the 
fringe  of  the  desert,  where  suddenly  outcropping 
ridges,  irregular  ravines,  and  separated  kopjes 
marked  the  close  approaches  of  the  mountain 
chain.  Half  recognising  the  place  as  one  feat- 
ured like  and  in  all  probability  not  far  removed 
from  the  scene  of  his  last  encounter  with  the 
enemy,  Danie  gazed  dully  about  him.  The 
vanguard  of  scouts,  riding  some  hundred  yards 
ahead,  had  led  the  commando  into  a  little 
valley,  almost  a  ravine,  that  formed  the  natural 
passage  between  two  steep  hillocks.  Danie 
313 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

looked  up  at  the  bush-covered  slopes  of  the 
kopje  to  his  left. 

He  looked  up  at  the  bush-covered  slopes  of  the 
kopje  to  the  left.  His  mechanical  hands  reined 
his  horse  to  a  halt.  The  head  of  the  column 
passed  him,  went  unsuspiciously  on.  His  eyes 
were  fixed.  They  were  fixed  on  the  face  of  a 
man  in  khaki  who  was  looking  along  the  barrel 
of  a  levelled  rifle.  Beside  that  man  lay  an- 
other partly  concealed  in  the  bush,  and  beside 
him  still  another.  Danie's  blood  froze  in  his 
veins.  This,  then,  was  the  end.  With  a  tre- 
mendous, almost  a  physical  effort  he  recovered 
his  voice,  at  the  same  time  forcing  his  horse 
round  toward  the  rear  of  the  column  and  driv- 
ing the  spurs  into  its  flanks. 

"Ambush!"  he  shouted  hoarsely.  "For- 
ward! Ambush!" 

The  words  were  hardly  out  of  his  mouth, 
the  startled  Boers  in  the  vicinity  had  not  taken 
in  their  meaning, — were  still  gazing  in  aston- 
ishment at  their  excited  commander, — when 
two  sheets  of  flame  burst  from  the  opposing 
hillsides,  a  thunderous  volley  rang  out,  and 
314 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  whole  line  was  thrown  into  helpless  but 
destructive  confusion.  There  was  no  thought 
of  resistance.  Heedless,  careless  of  the  dead 
and  wounded  who  fell  with  screams  and  clutch- 
ings  or  with  uplifted  hands  and  white,  convulsed 
faces  beneath  the  feet  of  the  plunging,  frantic 
horses,  the  column  broke  near  its  centre  and 
dashed  in  a  wild  flight  for  safety  in  two  direc- 
tions, one  half  turning  backward  to  retrace 
the  road  they  had  come,  the  others  flying 
wildly  straight  ahead  in  the  direction  of  their 
march.  Danie's  horse,  struck  to  the  heart, 
crashed  to  the  ground.  Its  rider  extricated 
himself  by  a  fortunate  movement,  and  leaped 
to  his  feet.  He  seized  the  offered  stirrup  of 
the  last  man  in  the  forward  flight,  and  half 
ran,  was  half  dragged  out  of  the  ravine  into 
the  open  beyond.  But  the  English  were  there 
also.  Mounted  troopers  were  galloping  about, 
shooting  and  cutting  down  the  demoralised 
and  scattered  Boers,  who  were  fleeing  toward 
every  point  in  the  compass. 

Danie's  companion  and  saviour,  a  young  Cape 
Colony    Afrikander,    Mare    by    name,    sprang 
315 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

from  his  horse  the  better  to  escape  among  the 
bush  and  long  grass.  Even  as  he  did  so,  the 
animal,  still  in  a  full  run,  was  struck  and  fell, 
rolling  over  and  over  like  a  shot  rabbit  with 
the  impetus  of  its  rapid  motion.  Danie  and 
Mare  plunged  over  the  rocks  and  the  bushes 
to  the  brow  of  a  little  descent,  down  which  they 
ran  to  hide  in  the  thick  grass  and  bush  at  the 
bottom  of  a  kloof  with  high,  wooded  krantzes 
at  either  side.  As  they  ran  into  their  conceal- 
ment, Mare  fell  heavily,  shot  through  the  ab- 
domen. Danie  stopped,  and,  seizing  him  under 
the  arms,  lifted  and  dragged  him  fifty  yards 
further  into  better  cover,  where  he  fell  himself, 
wounded  through  the  thigh  by  a  chance  shot 
fired  at  the  swaying  foliage.  They  lay  silent, 
covering  themselves  with  the  long  grass  and 
under-bushes  as  well  as  they  could. 

The  English  had  killed  or  captured  almost 
all  the  Boers  who  had  not  escaped  to  a  dis- 
tance by  breaking  through  their  lines.  But 
they  were  still  beating  the  bush  and  firing 
scattering  shots  at  real  or  imaginary  fugitives 
and  at  suspected  places  of  concealment.  The 
316 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

dozen  scouts  of  the  Boer  advance-guard  had 
taken  up  a  position  on  a  stony  ridge,  and 
opened  fire  upon  the  ambushed  enemy  as  soon 
as  they  had  discovered  what  was  taking  place. 
But  they  had  been  almost  immediately  sur- 
rounded, and  forced  to  surrender  in  a  body. 
Theirs  were  the  only  shots  fired  by  the  Boer 
commando  that  day  against  the  English.  The 
surprise  had  been  complete. 

Danie  and  his  single  companion  lay  at  the 
bottom  of  the  thickly  grown  canyon.  The 
British  soldiers  who  had  seen  them  go  in  were 
firing  at  random  from  the  rocks  on  either  side 
into  the  jungle  below,  and  were  rolling  heavy 
stones  down  wherever  they  thought  the  two 
men  might  be  hiding.  Tired  of  this  resultless 
work  at  last,  they  began  to  call  to  the  fugitives 
to  come  out,  or  they  would  set  fire  to  the  grass 
and  burn  them  out.  Their  threats  were  em- 
phasised with  dire  oaths  and  insulting  epi- 
thets. 

Danie's  thigh  wound  had  been  bleedin&freely, 
and  was  paining  him  a  good  deal.  But  Mare's 
eyes  were  closed,  and  his  face  and  lips  were 
317 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ashen.  His  breath  was  coming  quick  and  short. 
His  hands,  already  thin  and  white,  twitched 
nervously  from  time  to  time.  Danie  turned, 
and  took  one  of  the  white  hands  in  his. 

"  What  shall  we  do  ?"  he  whispered.  "  If  we 
stay  here,  and  they  set  fire  to  the  grass,  we 
shall  burn  to  death.  If  we  rise, — and  we  are 
both  badly  wounded, — they  will  probably 
shoot  us." 

The  boy — for  he  was  but  eighteen — feebly 
pressed  his  commander's  hand,  and  answered 
firmly,  but  in  short  gasps  and  with  great  dif- 
ficulty:— 

"I  am  dying  in  agony  now,  Commandant. 
Do  not  trouble  about  me.  Save  yourself.  If 
I  burn  to  death  or  die  this  way,  it  matters 
little.  Let  the  flames  destroy  my  body:  it  will 
be  better.  They  might  identify  me,  and  visit 
my  crime  on  my  poor  father  and  mother.  Be- 
sides, it  would  please  the  dogs  to  know  they 
had  killed  another  rebel." 

Danie  painfully  hitched  himself  a  little  nearer 
to  the  dying  Mare,  and  laid  his  hand  gently 
on  the  boy's  chilled  forehead,  already  damp 
318 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

with  death.  He  suddenly  remembered  his 
field-flask,  and,  taking  it  out,  moistened  the 
other's  lips  with  a  little  brandy  and  water. 
The  tears  came  to  his  eyes. 

"Poor,  dear  boy,"  he  said  feelingly,  "it  is 
on  my  account  — to  save  my  life — that  you  are 
dying.  If  you  had  not  stopped  to  offer  me 
your  stirrup  in  the  nek,  you  might  have  es- 
caped with  the  others.  I  will  stay  with  you, 
and  die  with  you.  Do  not  be  afraid." 

Mare  could  no  longer  speak,  but  he  half 
opened  his  eyes  and  smiled.  Then  his  soul 
passed  from  him. 

A  voice  called  out  from  the  far  side  of  the 
kloof:  "Well,  Sergeant,  set  fire  to  the  grass, 
and  let  'em  burn  if  they  won't  come  out.  But 
they  are  probably  dead  now,  if  they  ever  went 
in  there." 

"So,"  thought  Danie,  raising  his  head,  "they 
are  not  quite  sure,  after  all,  that  any  one  is 
here." 

He  fell  back  beside  the  dead  man,  and  stared 
up  at  the  sky,  for  the  time  being  resigned,  even 
anxious  for  his  fate,  yet  listening  with  all  his 
319 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ears  for  the  first  crackle  of  the  flames.  The 
past,  the  present,  the  possible  future,  moved 
swiftly  in  parade  before  his  mind.  He  could 
see  in  the  first  place  that  his  plans  had  failed, 
that  he  could  no  longer  attempt  to  carry  out 
his  plan  of  moving  to  and  up  the  coast.  The 
effect  of  this  new  disaster  upon  the  commando, 
— if,  indeed,  there  was  any  commando  left, — 
added  to  that  of  the  storm  and  fight,  the  re- 
treat that  preceded  it,  would  of  itself  put  an 
end  to  the  plan. 

What  had  he  done?  He  had  taken  Hope- 
ton,  beaten  the  enemy  at  Springfontein,  capt- 
ured and  killed  a  few  Englishmen,  taken  a 
few  horses  and  supplies,  and  lost  his  commando, 
the  best  equipped,  the  finest  that  the  Transvaal 
had  ever  sent  across  its  borders.  He  had 
better  die.  His  death  alone  would  wipe  out 
the  disgrace  of  his  failure.  Besides,  he  owed 
it  to  young  Mare  who  had  so  bravely  passed 
through  the  gates  before  him,  who  was  already 
standing  on  the  other  side  of  the  dark  river 
waiting  for  his  commander,  with  all  those 
others  (and  how  many  they  now  must  be!) 
320 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

who  had  left  the  ranks  of  the  commando  to 
join  the  countless  host  of  the  dead.  They 
would  be  waiting  for  him,  not  accusingly,  but 
with  friendly  and  familiar  hands  outstretched 
to  welcome  him  back  to  their  midst. 

Then  he  thought  of  Bettie,  and  his  heart 
smote  him.  But,  after  all,  what  had  he  now 
to  offer  her?  He  saw  clearly  that  not  only  he 
had  failed,  but  that  the  cause  for  which  he  was 
ghting  was  doomed.  And,  as  he  thought  it 
over,  he  decided  that  that  fact  in  itself  was 
cause  and  warrant  for  his  extinction.  He 
closed  his  eyes,  and  waited.  The  wait  grew 
long.  He  opened  them  again  to  notice  a  red 
glow  on  the  darkened  sky,  for  it  was  already 
evening.  A  faint  whiff  of  smoke  blew  past 
him,  then  another.  It  was  coming. 

He  closed  his  eyes  again.  He  wished  it  to 
surprise  him.  He  did  not  have  to  watch  its 
slow — or  swift — approach.  Strange  to  tell,  his 
mind  stole  imperceptibly  back  from  a  horrid 
contemplation  of  his  death  to  its  old  musings. 
The  truth  was,  the  loss  of  blood  had  so  weak- 
ened him  that  he  could  hardly  distinguish  be- 
321 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

tween  the  imminent  future  and  the  past,  be- 
tween the  present  of  which  he  was  a  part  and 
the  dreams  that  were  but  a  part  of  himself. 
His  mind  was  wandering  aimlessly  through 
a  forest  of  unreal  visions  and  conjectures,  when 
it  come  all  at  once  upon  a  clearing.  For  he 
waked  with  the  sudden  thought  that  perhaps 
he  had  no  right  to  die.  The  newness  of  the 
idea  surprised  him  into  a  consideration  of  its 
worth.  And,  as  he  thought  it  over  hi  his 
freshened  mind,  he  found  all  the  arguments 
against  him.  His  debt  to  the  living  was  greater 
than  that  he  owed  the  dead;  he  should  be  the 
last  rather  than  the  first  to  desert  his  country's 
cause;  Bettie  loved  him  for  himself,  not  for 
his  fame, — she  had  accepted  him  long  before 
the  war,  he  could  go  back  to  her,  if  no  greater, 
at  least  no  less  a  man,  and  find  her  unchanged 
and  satisfied.  Failure  was  not  disgraceful, 
however  bitter  it  tasted,  to  the  man  who  had 
really  tried;  and  there  came  always  the  oppor- 
tunity to  try  again.  He  roused  himself  more 
and  more  with  such  thoughts  as  these,  and 
suddenly,  to  his  astonishment,  he  found  himself 
322 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

sitting  up  and  staring  straight  at  the  advancing 
line  of  fire. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  fierce  torrents  of 
rain  that  had  fallen  early  that  afternoon,  Danie 
would  already  have  been  overwhelmed.  Even 
as  it  was,  the  hot  desert  sun  had  so  dried  the 
grass  and  bush  that,  once  fairly  started,  the 
flames  swept  onward  only  moderately  hindered 
by  the  little  moisture  that  remained  above  the 
ground.  His  saner  reason  having  told  him  that 
his  duty  was  still  to  escape,  if  possible,  Danie 
looked  about  him  for  a  way  to  do  so.  The 
fire,  fanned  by  the  evening  breeze,  was  work- 
ing its  way  more  and  more  rapidly  down  the 
kloof  directly  toward  him.  He  struggled  to 
his  hands  and  knees,  and  aimed  his  course 
diagonally  across  the  kloof  and  away  from  the 
fire.  His  progress  was  both  slow  and  painful. 
Thick  clouds  of  black  smoke  began  to  fill  the 
air  about  him.  Sparks  began  to  fly  over  his 
head,  to  settle  smouldering  in  front  of  him, 
starting  new  fires  in  his  path;  and  he  had  to 
avoid  these  as  well  as  the  stones  and  bushes 
over  which  he  could  not  step  or  climb.  The 
323 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

flames  gained  on  him.  Great  waves  of  heat 
swept  over  him,  almost  scorching  in  their  in- 
tensity. With  the  willingness  to  prolong  life 
had  come  the  desire,  and  to  the  hope  had  suc- 
ceeded a  great  fear  lest  he  should  fail  even  in 
that.  He  prayed  as  he  had  never  prayed  be- 
fore, fiercely,  almost  imperatively.  He  felt 
that  God,  having  warned  him  through  his  con- 
science that  his  duty  was  to  live,  should  see 
to  it  that  he  did  live.  But  he  also  began  to 
feel  a  fear  that  God  did  not  hear  or  was  not 
listening  to  his  prayers,  that  he  had  been  for- 
gotten. 

Just  as  the  heat  became  intolerable,  just 
as  he  began  absolutely  to  despair,  he  passed 
around  a  great  rock  on  which  the  lichens  were 
already  curling  and  browning,  and  found  on 
its  other  side  a  little  stream  issuing  from  be- 
neath it  and  flowing  away  into  the  dense 
thicket.  He  splashed  lengthwise  into  it,  and 
rolled  over,  burying  his  face  in  its  cool  waters. 
Then  with  a  roar  the  hungry  flames  leaped  over 
him. 


324 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


IN  the  clear  light  of  the  early  morning  two 
men  stood  talking  earnestly  on  a  little 
plateau  from  which,  with  the  exception  of  two 
points  of  interest,  the  whole  battle,  or  rather 
slaughter  field,  of  the  day  before  could  be  seen. 
The  two  places  which  their  eyes  or  the  glass 
of  which  they  made  anxious  use  could  not 
s'earch  were  the  nek  in  which,  between  the  two 
hills,  the  ambush  had  been  laid  and  the  kloof 
in  which  the  last  death  had  been  done,  the 
final  outrage  perpetrated.  The  two  kopjes, 
between  them  the  fatal  nek,  lay  in  line  half  a 
mile  to  the  front  of  the  observers.  The  kloof 
opened  almost  at  their  feet.  The  nearer  kopje 
concealed  the  nek:  a  fringe  of  bush  along  the 
edge  of  the  nearer  krantz,  which  ran  parallel 
to  their  left  a  few  yards  distant,  hid  the  gulf 
of  the  kloof  from  their  view. 

In  a  klip  scheur,  or  crevice,  in  the  side  of 

the  kloof  close  to  the  top  of  the  krantz,  a  man 

— who    looked   more   like   a   scarecrow — was 

crouching  hi  concealment,  not  forty  feet  from 

325 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

the  two  horsemen  on  the  plateau.  He,  too,  was 
evincing  great  anxiety  and  interest;  but  to 
gratify  his  desires,  to  gain  whatever  knowledge 
or  information  he  might  be  seeking,  he  was 
compelled  to  depend  alone  on  the  sense  of  hear- 
ing. For  to  see  he  must  risk  being  seen;  and 
he  dared  not  as  yet  show  himself.  The  rather 
restrained  tones  of  the  two  men  who  talked 
carried  clearly  enough  through  the  silence;  but 
the  man  who  listened,  although  he  could  hear 
the  sound  of  the  voices  well  enough,  could  not 
for  all  his  earnestness  distinguish  to  his  satis- 
faction even  the  language  in  which  they  spoke. 

The  taller  horseman,  who  had  once  more  been 
passing  his  glass  over  every  possible  foot  of 
the  wide  plain  before  him, — over  the  already 
half-eaten  and  noisome  carcasses  of  the  horses, — 
contemplatively  over  the  long  trench  near  the 
foot  of  the  kopjes,  which  had  been  reopened 
for  the  examination  of  its  gruesome  contents 
scarcely  an  hour  before, — slipped  it  into  its 
case  with  a  sigh. 

"Well,  Jan,"  he  said,  "it  is  no  use.  Will- 
iamson must  have  been  deceived  last  night, 
326 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

They  either  lied  to  him  or  the  men  he  spoke  to 
did  not  know.  Let  us  go  back." 

The  other  man  rose  in  his  stirrups.  "Wait 
a  little,  Lieutenant,"  he  said.  "Here  is  the 
kloof  Davel  spoke  of, — the  one  that  was  burned 
out."  And  he  rode  his  horse  to  its  edge,  and 
dismounted. 

"  Ons  kan  hier  afklim"  (We  can  climb  down 
here),  he  called. 

••""The  man  under  the  edge  of  the  krantz  started. 
He  seized  a  bush  growing  directly  over  his 
head,  and  half  pulled  himself  up  to  the  plateau. 
Leaning  far  out,  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  dis- 
mounted man,  who  had  begun  to  climb  down 
into  the  kloof  some  twenty  yards  away. 

"It  is  not  possible,"  he  muttered  to  himself. 
"I  must  see  the  other."  And  he  pulled  him- 
self up  again  until  his  head  reached  over  the 
edge  of  the  plateau.  His  awkward  movement 
started  a  few  stones  rattling  down  the  side  of 
the  kloof.  Both  the  other  men  turned  in  his 
direction,  but  the  fringe  of  bushes  along  the 
krantz  yet  protected  him  from  the  sight  of  the 
one  who  had  remained  on  horseback.  The 
327 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUK 

other,  now  on  a  level  with  the  ragged  and  reck- 
less watcher,  stared  at  him  for  a  moment  in 
open-mouthed  amazement.  Then  he  suddenly 
scrambled  back  to  the  plateau. 

"Goede  Hemel,  daar  is  die  Kommandant!" 
he  shouted,  and  ran  down  the  edge  of  the  cliff 
to  help  him  up.  The  mounted  man  leaped 
from  his  horse,  and  hastened  after  his  com- 
panion. 

"Jan  Kock!  and  Nel!  Koos  Nel!  How 
glad  I  am  to  see  you!"  stammered  Danie,  his 
voice  quivering  with  cold  and  with  emotion  as 
they  drew  him  gently  to  the  level  of  the  plain 
and  laid  him  tenderly  on  the  short  grass. 

He  was  black  from  head  to  foot  with  smoke 
and  grime,  his  clothes  were  charred  and  torn, 
his  hair  and  beard  singed  and  matted.  But 
his  wound — a  clean  flesh  wound  through  his 
thigh,  which  had  chipped,  but  not  broken  the 
bone — was  in  better  condition  than  he  had  ex- 
pected or  dreamed.  He  had  managed  to  bind 
it  roughly  during  the  night;  and  the  stream,  in 
which  he  had  cooled  its  fever  until  morning, 
had  served  him  well  as  a  cold  compress  and 
328 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

febrifuge.  He  had  been  able  at  dawn  to  drag 
himself  across  the  blackened  kloof  and  up  its 
precipitous  wall  without  much  difficulty.  There 
had  been  no  spreading  bush,  no  tangled  grass, 
left  to  impede  his  progress.  At  the  sound  of 
the  voices  he  had  concealed  himself  in  the  crev- 
ice of  the  cliff,  until  he  should  be  able  to 
discover  whether  their  owners  were  friends  or 
foemen. 

"Danie,  Danie,"  cried  Nel,  as  he  bent  over 
nim,  "we  thought  we  had  surely  lost  you! 
After  we  got  the  remnant  of  the  commando 
together," — Danie  winced  at  the  words, — "and 
could  not  find  you  among  them,  we  did  every- 
thing! Jan  and  I  have  been  here  since  the 
English  drew  off  to  pursue  us,  looking  for  you 
or  your  body.  We  had  all  the  poor  dead  out 
of  their  graves,  and  then  reburied  them.  The 
khakis  had  just  thrown  a  little  sand  on  top 
of  them.  Williamson  even  went  back  to  the 
English  camp  to  see  if  he  could  see  or  hear  of 
you.  But  he  heard  nothing,  and  they  nearly 
suspected  him  for  all  his  clever  lies.  What  a 
time!  And  here  you  are  at  last,  thank  God, 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

safe  and  fairly  sound.     Bring  my  horse  here, 
Jan.    We  must  get  him  right  away." 

"Tell  me,"  said  Danie,  "tell  me  first,  dear 
Koos,  how  many  men  there  are  left.  How 
many" — he  hesitated  at  the  words. 

"There  were  one  hundred  and  eighty-one, 
including  yourself,  who  were  not  there  when 
I  called  the  roll  early  this  morning,"  answered 
Lieutenant  Nel,  mournfully.  "But  some  of 
them  were  taken  prisoners,  I  know.  And  we 
have  nearly  twenty  wounded  men  with  us  now. 
Oh,  we  are  in  bad  shape!  But  never  so  bad 
that  we  might  not  be  worse,"  he  added,  as  he 
saw  the  pallor  grow  on  Danie's  cheek. 

"No,  no,  Koos,"  said  his  commander,  "we 
can  do  no  more.  If  God  permits  us,  we  must 
get  back  to  the  Transvaal  as  soon  as  we  can, 
without  looking  for  any  more  fighting.  The 
men  will  not  follow  any  further,  and  you  will 
see  that  all  our  new  recruits  will  leave  us  and 
go  back  to  their  homes.  I  saw  the  commando's 
temper  yesterday  on  the  march  after  the  storm, 
and  I  know.  Confess  it  yourself.  How  do 
they  seem  to  feel  now?" 
330 


UNDER    THE    VTERKLEUR 

"Well,"  Nel  replied  with  a  little  embarrass- 
ment, "their  spirit  is  not  what  it  used  to  be. 
There  was  talk  this  morning  about  surrender 
as  well  as  about  going  home.  Men  like  Jan 
here  would  follow  you  to  hell,  and  you  know 
I  will  always  be  with  you;  but  we  are  a  small 
minority.  Now  that  is  enough,  old  fellow. 
Let  us  lift  you  to  the  horse.  We  have  a  couple 
of  miles  to  go  before  we  reach  the  commando, 
,snd  the  English  may  find  us  at  any  hour." 

"Let  us  go,"  said  Danie,  sadly.  And  they 
disappeared  among  the  little  kopjes  toward 
the  mountains. 

The  laager  of  the  depleted  and  despondent 
commando  was  in  as  secret  a  place  as  could 
be  found  in  the  outer  borders  of  the  range  it 
knew  so  well.  Here  Lieutenant  Nel  had  gath- 
ered the  men,  as  soon  as  he  had  succeeded  hi 
throwing  the  English  off  the  track  of  the  rem- 
nant that  escaped  with  him;  and  here  the  two 
or  three  score  of  burghers  who  had  fled  sep- 
arately into  the  mountains  had  easily  found 
their  way  by  means  of  secret  signals  and  the 
scouts  sent  out  to  search  for  them.  The  great 
331 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

joy  in  the  little  laager  at  seeing  Danie  again 
was  not  to  be  mistaken.  But  the  men's  joy, 
their  enthusiasm,  neither  deceived  their  com- 
mander nor  themselves.  Their  old  spirit  was 
gone.  They  were  like  rats  in  a  closed  room, 
with  the  dogs  barking  and  howling  at  the  door 
for  luck  to  let  them  in;  and  they  knew  it  only 
too  well.  Reduced  to  a  bare  third  of  their 
original  strength,  their  captain  wounded  and 
sick,  their  horses  almost  completely  knocked  up, 
their  stomachs  empty  and  abused,  their  enemies 
gathering  from  every  side  against  them,  fresh, 
strong,  in  overpowering  force,  what  was  to  be 
their  fate?  What  could  it  be  but  one?  And 
yet  these  men,  knowing  better  than  their 
enemies  their  own  weakness  and  their  oppo- 
nent's preponderance  in  power,  knowing  that 
the  north  was  barred  against  them  with  bars 
as  impassable  as  those  which  closed  the  south 
to  them,  or  the  east  or  the  west,  would  have 
marched  gayly  out  into  the  desert  that  same 
day,  ready  and  willing  to  cut  their  way  back 
through  the  Colony,  through  the  Free  State, 
back.  to.  their  home,  their  beloved  Transvaal, 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

had  their  captain  given  them  the  word.  Or, 
in  the  attempt,  they  would  have  died  at  his 
command,  his  beck. 

But  however  much  he  meant  to  lead  them 
homeward,  whatever  his  mind  was  for  the 
morrow,  it  was  not  to  be.  That  very  night 
he  was  placed  on  a  horse  and  strapped  to  the 
saddle;  and,  buoyed  between  two  faithful  at- 
tendants, he  led  the  van  westward  along  the 
"gloomy  track  they  had  twice  traversed,  while 
more  than  half  the  commando  was  engaged 
throughout  the  night  in  a  series  of  desperate 
rear-guard  actions,  trying  to  hold  the  ever-in- 
creasing pursuit  at  bay. 

For  nearly  two  days  Danie  rode  as  if  in  a 
dream.  The  alternately  following  columns  of 
the  English  never  slackened  in  the  pursuit. 
The  only  rest  that  the  Boers  could  get  was 
when  hi  desperation  they  dropped  behind  some 
randt,  set  their  backs  against  some  wall,  and 
one-half  fought  madly  to  stand  off  the  enemy, 
while  the  other  half  slept  and  the  worn-out 
horses  were  ungirthed  for  a  few  hours  of  such 
poor  ease  as  they  could  find. 
333 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

In  forty-eight  hours  the  strain  became  ter- 
rific. Men  and  horses  dropped  at  every  mile. 
Small  English  columns  were  crawling  up  on  the 
Boer  flanks.  Directly  in  front  of  the  commando 
lay  the  Capetown  railroad,  heavily  fortified  and 
guarded.  Danie's  little  force — now  number- 
ing less  than  a  hundred  men — was  being  driven 
right  against  the  line  at  Maatjesfontein.  One 
more  hopeless  dash,  one  last  fight,  and  it  was 
all  over.  The  wounded  leader  called  up  every 
reserve  of  his  powers  as  he  approached  the 
railroad.  His  gaunt  face  was  deeply  flushed, 
his  sunken  eyes  gleamed  with  an  unnatural 
light.  He  took  back  the  command  from  Nel, 
who  had  held  it  for  him  during  the  last  two 
dreadful  days. 

"Give  it  to  me,"  he  said,  "and  tell  the  men 
that  I  myself  will  lead  them.  It  will  not  be 
long.  We  shall  either  break  through — or  we 
shall  not.  In  any  case  it  will  be  my  last  fight, — 
at  least  for  some  tune, — and  fight  it  myself  I 
will!" 

The  men,  nerved  by  despair,  cheered  him  to 
the  echo  in  the  midst  of  the  British  bullets  as 
334 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

he  rode  alone  to  the  head  of  their  column  with 
his  old  careless  smile.  He  nodded  and  threw 
his  felt  hat  to  the  ground,  riding  bare-headed 
up  and  down  the  line. 

"There  is  no  way  to  do  it  but  to  do  it!"  he 
repeated  again  and  again.  "We  must  get 
through — or  die.  But  kill  as  many  khakis  as 
possible.  Make  them  pay  dear  for  the  three 
hundred  who  lie  buried  in  the  desert,  who  will 
'never  again  see  their  homes,  their  wives,  their 
children.  Think  of  your  own,  and  try  to  re- 
turn to  them.  There  lies  the  road," — he 
pointed  ahead, — "  I  will  lead  you  to  it.  Come!" 

There  was  indeed  no  alternative.  The  little 
commando  hurled  itself,  yelling,  against  the 
defences  of  the  railroad  only  to  recoil,  dazed 
and  shattered,  from  the  rain  of  steel  that  the 
heavy  line  of  infantry,  aided  by  Maxims,  poured 
forth  straight  into  its  face.  Once  again  the 
thinned  and  broken  column  rode  at  the  embank- 
ment, its  mad,  indomitable  leader  carrying  his 
little  remnant  right  up  to  the  muzzles  of  the 
rifles.  And  then,  alas!  the  end  really  came. 
There  was  none  to  lead,  there  were  none  to 
335 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

follow,  for  a  third  charge.  But  twenty-seven 
men  remained  unwounded  when  Danie  crashed 
to  the  ground,  his  horse  riddled  with  steel.  To 
save  themselves  from  murder,  they  threw  up 
their  hands.  It  was  a  brave  surrender. 

Danie  was  stunned  by  the  fall,  and  was 
spared  the  sight  of  the  surrender,  which,  after 
all,  might  well  have  cheered  his  poor  heart,  as 
far  as  the  knowledge  that  his  men  were  not  all 
to  die  that  day  could  do  so.  When  he  came 
to  himself,  he  found  a  number  of  very  peaceful- 
looking  English  soldiers  engaged  in  lifting  his 
dead  horse  from  off  one  of  his  legs,  which,  he 
was  aware,  was  giving  him  intense  agony.  He 
saw,  dimly,  a  couple  of  English  officers  stand- 
ing over  him.  He  could  not  see  as  far  as  to 
their  faces,  which  seemed  a  great  distance  off. 
But  he  did  not  fail  to  understand  that  he  was 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies  for  the  second 
time,  and,  he  feared,  forever.  Then  he  calmly 
closed  his  eyes,  and  fainted  away. 


336 


CHAPTER    IX. 


TWO  weeks  later  the  kindly  surgeon  came 
one  morning  to  the  side  of  Danie's  cot 
in  the  hospital  at  Maatjesfontein.  He  felt  of 
his  patient's  pulse,  took  his  temperature,  re- 
placed the  bandages  about  his  fast  healing 
wound,  and  examined  the  splints  which  bound 
"his  broken  leg.  Then  he  sent  for  a  pair  of 
crutches,  and  ordered  that  the  prisoner  be  as- 
sisted to  rise  and  dress. 

Danie  opened  his  eyes  in  astonishment. 
"Why,  I  cannot  walk,  doctor.  Am  I  to  be 
sent  away?"  he  asked. 

"Not  far,"  answered  the  surgeon,  reassur- 
ingly. "Just  across  the  square  to  the  court- 
house. The  court-martial  will  sit  in  an  hour 
to  try  you." 

"Court-martial?  Try  me?"  gasped  Danie. 
"Why,  I  am  a  prisoner  of  war.  What  have  I 
to  do  with  a  court-martial,  what  has  a  court- 
martial  to  do  with  me?" 

"That  you  must  know  best  yourself,  Mr. 
Linde.  You  have  undoubtedly  been  informed 
337 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  the  charges  against  you.  I  cannot,  of  course, 
discuss  the  matter  with  you."  And  he  walked 
away. 

Danie  was  stupefied.  "What  have  I  done 
that  I  should  be  tried  by  court-martial?  What 
have  they  against  me?"  he  asked  again,  as  he 
was  being  dressed,  of  the  old  soldier  who  served 
as  hospital  attendant. 

"Hi'm  sure  I  don't  know,  sir,"  replied  the 
man,  looking  cautiously  around  to  make  sure 
that  he  was  not  overheard.  Danie's  patience 
and  his  gratitude  for  ordinary  kindnesses  during 
his  two  weeks'  confinement  in  the  hospital  had 
touched  his  attendant's  heart.  "Hi  under- 
stand they  'ave  a  lot  of  charges  against  you. 
Probably  like  those  that  were  brought  against 
your  Commandant  Scheepers." 

"  Scheepers  ?  "  exclaimed  Danie.  "  Scheepers  ? 
I  know  him  well.  Was  he  captured  and  tried 
by  court-martial?  What  did  they  do  to  him? 
Did  they  send  him  into  exile?" 

"No,  sir,"  answered  the  attendant,  in  a  low 
voice.  "They  found  'im  guilty  of  hall  sorts  o' 
things,  and  shot  'im." 

338 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Dame's  heart  sank  into  his  boots.  "Shot 
him?"  he  repeated  hoarsely.  "My  God!  What 
did  they  shoot  him  for?  Tell  me  what  you 
know  about  it!" 

"W'y,  sir,"  said  the  man,  "they  captured 
'im  when  'e  was  sick  with  a  fever,  and  tried 
'im  within  a  week.  They  'ad  to  carry  'im  both 
before  the  court-martial  and  to  the  grave.  The 
two  men  who  was  to  'old  'im  up  refuses  to 
st£nd  in  front  of  the  bullets,  and  small  blame 
to  'em,  says  I.  Nor  I  wouldn't  'a'  done  it, 
neither.  So  they  sets  'im  in  a  chire  with  'is 
eyes  tied  up.  Hi  wasn't  there,  but  I  'card 
that  'e  hasked  to  be  allowed  to  stand  be'ind 
the  chire  and  'old  on  to  it,  and  to  'ave  his  eyes 
unbandaged.  But  they  wouldn't  let  'im. 
Hand  so  'e  died." 

A  cheerful  outlook,  thought  Danie.  He 
asked  no  more  questions. 

Before  the  hour  had  passed,  he  was  escorted 
by  an  armed  guard  across  the  square  to  the 
building  in  which  the  court-martial  was  to 
hold  its  session.  He  entered  the  room  leaning 
heavily  on  the  shoulders  of  two  of  his  guards, 
339 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  was  allowed  to  sit  down.  The  court  was 
opened  with  all  due  form  and  ceremony. 

"Mr.  Linde,"  began  the  colonel  who  pre- 
sided over  the  proceedings. 

Danie  straightened  in  his  chair.  "I  have  a 
military  title,"  he  interrupted,  "as  I  hold  a 
military  commission  regularly  issued  by  my 
government.  I  beg  to  be  addressed  by  it." 

The  colonel  frowned  slightly.  "Command- 
ant Linde,  then,"  he  began  once  more.  "There 
are  thirteen  charges  against  you  in  the  indict- 
ment presented  before  this  court.  They" — 

Danie  interrupted  again.  "I  have  heard 
nothing  about  them,"  he  said.  "I  understand 
that  according  to  all  military  law  I  should  have 
seen  them  some  time  ago." 

The  colonel  coughed.  "They  were  sent  you, 
sir,  as  soon  as  they  were  made  up,  to  assist 
you  in  preparing  your  defence.  If  you  have 
not  received  them,  that  is  your  misfortune,  and 
not  the  fault  of  the  court.  The  indictment  will 
be  read  to  you,  however,  and  you  will  have  the 
opportunity  of  hearing  the  charges  to  which 
you  are  to  answer.  The  court  will  now  pro- 
340 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ceed  without  further  interruption  on  the  part 
of  the  prisoner.  Mr.  Clerk,  read  the  indict- 
ment." 

Danie  sank  hopelessly  back  in  his  chair.  It 
became  evident  that  he  was  to  have  but  little 
chance  for  his  life ;  and,  as  the  officer  who  acted 
as  clerk  commenced  to  read  the  strange  in- 
dictment, it  appeared  to  the  poor  prisoner  that 
his  dismal  conviction  could  not  have  been 
better  founded. 

The  specifications  alleged: — 

First.  That  on  a  certain  day  in  the  month 
of  May,  1900,  the  prisoner  before  the  court  had 
escaped  from  the  hospital  of  the  military  prison 
at  Pietermaritzburg  in  Natal,  breaking  a  parole 
which,  if  not  given  directly  by  word  of  mouth 
or  in  writing,  had  nevertheless  been  implied 
and  understood,  and  for  a  time  tacitly  agreed 
to  by  both  parties  to  the  implied  agreement, 
until  the  prisoner  had  himself  violated  it  by 
his  escape. 

Second.  That  a  few  days  after  his  escape 
from  Pietermaritzburg  he  had  appeared  at  the 
farm  of  a  certain  Hockley  in  the  Pomeroy  dis- 
341 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

trict  of  Natal,  and  by  means  of  a  false  and 
forged  order  upon  the  provost-marshal  at 
Pietermaritzburg,  purporting  to  be  signed  by 
a  certain  Captain  F.  H.  Ainslee  of  the  Intelli- 
gence Department,  had  procured  a  horse  of 
the  value  of  twenty  pounds  to  aid  him  in  fur- 
thering his  escape,  by  his  action  breaking  both 
the  military  and  the  civil  laws  governing  the 
land. 

Third.  That  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth 
day  subsequent  to  the  date  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  charge  of  the  indictment  he  had 
without  provocation  or  just  cause  treacher- 
ously shot  and  slain  a  sergeant  of  mounted 
police  who  was  acting  legally  and  in  the  proper 
discharge  of  his  duty  on  the  borders  of  Zulu- 
land  and  the  Vaal  River  Colony. 

The  Fourth,  Fifth,  and  Sixth  specifications 
charged  that  the  prisoner,  while  conducting  a 
guerilla  warfare  in  the  northern  and  central 
districts  of  the  Vaal  River  Colony,  had  on 
three  different  occasions  by  the  use  of  dyna- 
mite destroyed  passing  trains  filled  with  pas- 
sengers, both  military  and  civilian,  in  direct 
342 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

contravention   to   the   rules   and   precepts   of 
civilised  warfare. 

Seventh.  That  he  had  hanged,  or  that  others 
by  his  order  and  under  his  direction  had  hanged, 
in  violation  of  one  of  the  most  important  and 
widely  recognised  laws  of  war,  and  against  all 
principles  of  common  humanity,  one  of  His 
Majesty's  subjects  who  had  surrendered  as  a 
prisoner  of  war  to  the  prisoner  before  the  court 
fit"  the  town  of  Hopeton  in  the  Cape  Colony 
in  October  of  the  present  year,  and  who  was 
therefore  under  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
latter,  the  murdered  man  being  by  name  Jim 
Kondwana,  and  at  the  time  of  his  capture  and 
surrender  serving  as  a  member  of  the  mounted 
police  force  under  His  Majesty's  officers. 

The  Eighth,  Ninth,  Tenth,  Eleventh,  Twelfth, 
and  Thirteenth  specifications  charged  separate 
instances  of  the  prisoner's  seducing  from  their 
allegiance  certain  subjects  of  His  Majesty  in 
the  Cape  Colony,  and  of  arming  and  inducing 
them  to  fight  with  arms  in  their  hands  as  rebels 
against  the  legal  and  constituted  authority  of 
their  country. 

343 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  clerk  completed  the  reading  of  the  long 
and  formal  document  amid  a  profound  silence. 
For  a  minute  after  he  had  finished  there  was 
no  sound  heard  in  the  court-room  except  the 
stamp  and  snort  of  one  of  the  judges'  horses, 
tied  in  a  shed  outside  the  open  window.  The 
eyes  of  the  court  were  cast  solemnly  down,  while 
those  of  the  few  military  spectators  were  turned 
upon  the  face  of  the  prisoner. 

Danie  alternately  flushed  and  paled.  He 
was  as  furious  as  he  was  amazed  at  the  twists 
and  turns  they  had  given  some  of  his  acts, — 
at  the  infernal  ingenuity  with  which  they  si- 
lently based  the  illegality  of  those  acts  alleged 
as  having  been  committed  in  Natal  on  his  lack 
of  legal  standing  as  a  parole-breaker  who  had 
forfeited  all  belligerent  rights;  at  the  fiendish 
impudence  of  their  description  of  a  parole 
"not  given  directly  by  word  of  mouth  or  in 
writing,"  but  nevertheless  u  implied  and  under- 
stood" and  "tacitly  agreed  to"!  As  if  such  an 
anomaly  could  exist!  But  he  saw  from  these 
very  facts  of  distortion  that  his  cause  was  lost 
in  advance,  that  whatever  he  should  say  in 
344 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

his  own  defence  or  in  condemnation  of  his 
judges  would  be  but  careless  waste  of  the  little 
breath  left  to  him  in  life.  So  he  sat  motion- 
less in  his  chair,  looking  steadily  at  the  wall 
above  their  heads. 

Then  the  presiding  officer  broke  the  silence. 
"What  have  you  to  say  for  yourself,  prisoner?" 
he  said,  raising  his  head.  "Are  you  guilty  or 
not  guilty?" 

""iDanie  still  sat  dumb,  staring  at  the  wall. 
There  was  a  little  rustle  in  the  room.  Sud- 
denly two  of  the  younger  officers  at  the  table 
leaned  across  to  their  senior,  and  whispered 
busily  to  him  for  a  moment. 

"Ah!  yes,"  he  answered  them,  nodding 
rapidly.  Then  he  looked  up  again.  "You 
need  not  plead  to  the  whole  indictment,  but  to 
its  separate  clauses,  one  by  one,  Linde.  Are 
you  guilty  or  not  guilty  of  the  first  act  charged, 
— of  breaking  your  parole  and  escaping  from 
Pietermaritzburg  ?  " 

Danie  could  restrain  his  wild  indignation  no 
longer.    It  seemed  as  if  all  the  little  blood 
left  in  his  body  leaped  to  his  face.     "  Oh,  they 
345 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

are  worse  than  Kaffirs,"  he  said  within  himself. 
"Well,  to  hell  with  them!  I  will  tell  them 
what  I  think,  if  it  is  my  last  act!"  He  tottered 
to  his  feet  with  blazing  eyes,  and  gripped 
unsteadily  for  support  at  the  shoulder  of  the 
armed  guard  who  stood  beside  his  chair.  "I 
am  not  guilty!"  he  thundered. 

The  colonel  raised  his  hand.  "He  pleads 
Not  Guilty  to  the  first  charge,  Mr.  Clerk,"  he 
said  coldly.  "Set  it  down." 

Danie  caught  his  breath,  and  continued,  "I 
did  escape  from  Pietermaritzburg" — 

The  colonel  leaned  forward,  and  interrupted 
him.  "You  will  change  the  plea  to  guilty, 
Mr.  Clerk." 

— "but  I  was  not  on  parole.  There  was  no 
parole  offered  or  demanded,  '  implied '  or  other- 
wise," went  on  Danie,  hotly.  "Bring  your 
witnesses,  that  I  may  question  them!" 

The  colonel  laid  his  hand  on  a  mass  of  papers 
lying  on  the  table  before  him.  "We  need  no 
witnesses,"  he  said  calmly.  "We  have  here, 
concerning  that  charge  as  well  as  concerning 
all  the  other  charges,  statements  and  affida- 
346 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

vits  from  British  officers  and  from  others  that 
are  quite  sufficient  and  satisfactory." 

"Let  me  see  them!"  demanded  Danie. 

"You  cannot,"  returned  his  judge,  briefly. 

"Then  I  denounce  them  now  and  forever  as 
lies, — as  false,  infamous  lies!"  roared  Danie, 
beside  himself.  "As  to  the  rest,  I  did  hang 
the  dirty  Kaffir  in  Hopeton.  I  would  have 
hanged  him  fifty  tunes  over  with  my  own 
"hands  if  it  had  been  necessary.  He  had  done 
brutal  murder  on  an  innocent  boy  in  Ermelo 
some  months  before,  and  committed  another 
one  right  before  my  eyes  and  those  of  Major 
Campbell  while  a  prisoner  under  my  control. 
My  shooting  of  the  sergeant  of  police  by  the 
Umvolosi  River  was  a  legal  act  of  war  as  well 
as  of  self-defence.  He  would  have  shot  me  if 
I  had  not  been  too  quick  for  him.  As  to  my 
dynamiting  of  trains  being  contrary  to  the  rules 
of  civilised  warfare,  I  will  only  say  that  when- 
ever I  did  such  unpalatable  work  I  followed 
the  instructions  set  forth  hi  your  Lord  Wolse- 
ley's  own  handbook  on  the  subject.  To  finish, 
I  am  proud  to  have  proved,  as  has  every  other 
347 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

of  our  officers  who  have  invaded  the  Cape 
Colony,  that  it  still  holds  Afrikander  Boers 
who  are  one  in  heart  with  their  brothers  of 
the  Republics,  and  who  are  true  enough  to 
their  real  fatherland  to  fight  for  it."  He  fell 
back  quivering  with  wrath  and  exertion. 

The  president  bent  forward  again.  "The 
prisoner  pleads  guilty  to  all  counts  but  the 
second,"  he  said.  "So  set  it  down,  Mr.  Clerk. 
You  have  not  pleaded  to  the  charge  of  forgery, 
prisoner,"  he  added,  looking  at  Danie. 

The  Boer  struggled  to  rise  once  more,  but 
could  not.  "Forgery!"  he  cried,  panting. 
"Oh,  the  Hockley  horse,— forgery !  The 
charge  is  too  silly,  too  cowardly,  to  discuss.  I 
signed  him  an  order  with  the  first  name  that 
came  into  my  mind.  If  the  man  was  fool 
enough  to  present  an  order  given  him  by  one 
whom  within  six  hours  he  knew  to  be  an  es- 
caping prisoner  of  war" — 

"Hold!"  cried  the  president,  lifting  his  hand. 
"Cap tarn  Ainslee,  please  step  forward." 

An  officer  arose  near  the  end  of  the  room, 
and  walked  up  to  the  table. 
348 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Your  name?"  asked  the  court. 

"Charles  Theodore  Ainslee,  sir,"  he  answered. 

"Are  you  connected  with  the  Intelligence 
Staff?" 

"lam,  sir." 

The  president  smiled  triumphantly.  "That 
will  do,  sir.  You  may  sit  down." 

Danie  had  watched  the  astonishing  little 
farce  with  wide-open  eyes.  For  a  moment 
~ftie  slight  coincidence  of  name  and  service  puz- 
zled him;  but,  as  he  saw  that  it  did  not  in  any 
way  touch  the  real  matter  of  the  signature,  he 
let  it  pass  scornfully.  "They  are  not  after 
proof,"  he  said  to  himself.  "They  are  hunting 
for  blood.  All  they  wish  is  an  excuse,  be  it 
slight  as  it  may." 

The  members  of  the  court  consulted  for  a 
few  moments  in  whispers  over  their  table.  Then 
the  president  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  Daniel  Linde,"  he  said,  "  stand  up."  Danie 
was  helped  to  his  feet.  The  colonel  continued, 
"This  court  finds  you  guilty  on  all  counts 
charged  in  the  indictment  against  you,  and 
sentences  you  to  be  shot  to  death,  the  sentence 
349 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

not  to  be  carried  out  until  after  its  confirmation 
by  the  commander-in-chief  of  His  Majesty's 
forces  in  South  Africa." 

The  court-martial  was  now  officially  declared 
closed.  Dame's  guards  led  him  from  the  room 
and  back  to  the  hospital,  where  he  sat  for 
hours  on  the  edge  of  his  cot,  trying  to  digest, 
to  grasp  the  idea  that  he  was  soon  to  be  taken 
out  to  an  open  grave,  to  have  his  eyes  ban- 
daged, and  to  kneel  upon  the  good  earth  to 
be  killed,  like  a  dog  or  a  traitor,  hated,  help- 
less, miserable,  despicable.  Death  had  never 
before  confronted  him  in  so  low,  so  base  a 
form;  and  it  was  as  incomprehensible  as  it  was 
almost  unrecognisable. 

That  very  evening  a  letter  was  brought  to 
the  condemned  prisoner  from  his  friend  Camp- 
bell, dated  at  Pietermaritzburg.  Its  tenor  was 
not  calculated  to  raise  his  depressed  spirits  or 
strengthen  his  heart  against  the  ordeal  that 
impended. 

"  My  dear  Linde,"  he  read,  "  I  was  almost  as 
sorry  to  hear  of  your  capture  as  I  should  feel 
glad.  I  sincerely  hope  that  my  countrymen 
350 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

at  Maatjesfontein  are  treating  you  with  some 
of  the  kindness  and  consideration  you  lately 
showed  to  me  and  my  officers.  It  is  with  great 
sorrow  that  I  have  to  inform  you  that  Miss 
Uys — to  whom  your  letter  was  safely  deliv- 
ered— has  been  for  some  time  very  ill  with 
typhoid  malaria,  and  lies  now  in  a  most  serious 
condition.  I  will  try  to  inform  you  if  any- 
thing of  importance  takes  place." 


351 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE  population  of  Pietermaritzburg, 
scarcely  sixteen  thousand  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war,  had  nearly  doubled  as  it  pro- 
gressed by  reason  of  the  influx  of  soldiers,  of 
strangers  and  sight-seers  of  all  descriptions  on 
then*  way  inland,  and  of  the  troops  and  trains 
of  sick  and  wounded  and  prisoners  on  their 
way  out  or  to  the  sea.  Everything  that  came 
to  Durban,  the  port  of  Natal,  passed  to  or 
through  Pietermaritzburg,  as  did  also  every- 
thing going  back  to  Durban  and  the  coast. 
The  new  suburbs  of  the  town,  the  military 
camps,  the  camps  for  the  wounded,  and  the 
concentration  camp  held  the  great  majority 
A  those  who  went  to  make  up  the  temporary 
uprease  to  the  population.  But  the  streets 
o3F  -the  little  city  could  have  been  paved  from 
end  to  end  with  the  officers  and  strangers  of 
all  nationalities  and  the  correspondents,  real 
and  pretended,  who  somehow  stowed  them- 
selves away  night  after  night  within  its  pre- 
cincts, and  filled  its  streets  by  day. 
352 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

The  wheels  of  every  kind  of  society  turned 
at  full  speed.  The  social  machinery  of  every 
class  of  the  inhabitants,  and  of  many  a  new 
class  imported  and  set  up  by  the  new-comers, 
ran  at  full  blast.  Almost  every  family  of  any 
pretension  in  the  town — and  many  who  made 
no  such  claims  at  all — entertained  feverishly 
night  and  day.  There  were  houses  partisan  to 
both  sides;  there  were  houses  unaffected  to 
"either.  The  great  saloons  of  public  halls  and 
hotels  resounded  evening  after  evening  to  the 
blaring  music  of  military  balls  and  prome- 
nades; there  were  teas  and  garden  parties  and 
receptions  given  by  and  attended  by  persons 
of  every  shade  of  social  and  political  persua- 
sion. The  strangers,  the  correspondents,  and 
even  the  British  officers  were  impartial  and 
ubiquitous.  They  all  found  their  pleasure  and 
excitement  wherever  they  sought  it;  and  they 
sought  it  all  the  time  and  everywhere. 

The  great  house  of  the  Maritzes   was  one 

of   the  centres  of  attraction  and  amusement. 

Constant  streams  of  invitations  passed  out  of 

its  portals  to  return  in  the  shape  of  guests  of 

353 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

all  the  sorts  and  conditions  the  town  and 
camps  could  afford.  Mrs.  Maritz  offered  her 
hand  as  often  and  as  imperturbably  to  the  Boer 
inmate  of  the  concentration  camp,  out  by  per- 
mission for  the  evening,  as  to  the  British  officer 
about  to  return  to  the  front;  as  well  to  the 
dubious  French  correspondent,  whose  bills  at 
the  hotel  were  in  long  arrears,  as  to  the  silent 
refugee  from  the  Transvaal,  whose  eyes  were 
constantly  shifting  around  among  the  faces  of 
the  rest  of  the  company.  Martha  played  tennis 
with  the  young,  athletic  English  lieutenants, 
danced  with  the  stiff,  tightly  laced  Russian 
attache",  with  as  bright  a  face,  as  apparently 
warm  a  heart,  as  she  served  tea  to  the  frightened, 
awkward  Boer  girl  from  the  northern  Trans- 
vaal or  chatted  with  the  quick,  observant 
American  who  had  "just  come  over  to  look 
on."  It  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  a  shy, 
pretty  girl  of  the  conquered  race  to  be  taken 
down  to  dinner  on  the  arm  of  one  of  her  coun- 
try's stalwart  conquerors,  for  the  commander 
of  the  concentration  camp  to  meet  as  his  full 
and  free  equal  the  prisoner  to  whom  he  had 
354 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

that  very  afternoon  grudgingly  granted  a  pass 
to  visit  the  city.  For  in  the  hospitable  home 
of  the  Maritzes  no  divisions  of  class  or  nation- 
ality were,  at  this  period,  recognised.  Many 
honest  and  sincere,  as  well  as  many  envious 
or  jealous,  tongues  were  stirred  to  utter  con- 
demnation and  detraction  strong  and  bitter 
at  the  impartially  genial  course  adopted  by 
the  Maritzes,  remembering  that  their  real  sym- 
pathies had  always  professed  to  lie  with  the 
cause  of  the  Republics.  But  few  or  none  of 
these  harsh  and  unjust  judges  understood  or 
appreciated  the  real  service  that  the  two 
women  actually  rendered  to  the  burgher  cause 
in  their  gentle  and  quiet  way.  The  lot  of  the 
poor  women  in  the  concentration  camp  was 
alleviated,  improved,  more  than  once  and  in 
more  than  one  way,  because  the  commanding 
officer  had  met  and  talked  with  and  under- 
stood, as  he  never  could  have  done  in  camp, 
many  of  his  sad-eyed  prisoners  for  a  free  mo- 
ment beneath  the  Maritz  roof.  More  than  a 
few — indeed,  who  could  say  how  many? — 
farms  and  homesteads  in  the  far  Transvaal 
355 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  Free  State  were  spared  from  the  flames 
because  the  officer  in  command  of  the  dread 
detachment  wilfully  forgot  his  orders,  remem- 
bering instead,  at  sight  of  the  white  and  trem- 
bling inmates,  the  sweet,  pale  face  and  shy 
tones  of  the  girl  into  whose  eyes  he  had  once 
looked  in  the  Maritz  drawing-rooms  or  to  whom 
he  had  talked  at  that  hospitable  table. 

But  Martha  Maritz  did  not  neglect  the  more 
direct,  if  less  open,  opportunities  to  help  and 
hearten  those  for  whom  her  own  heart  went 
out,  greatly  though  such  opportunities  had  in- 
creased since  Danie's  prison  life  in  Pietermaritz- 
burg  had  ended  through  her  intervention.  Her 
gentle  face,  her  sympathetic  voice,  became  as 
familiar  in  the  concentration  camp,  in  the 
women's  hospitals,  in  the  guard-camps  of  the 
poor  exiles  on  their  way  to  Saint  Helena,  as  they 
were  still  in  the  old  prison-hospital.  A  part  of 
every  day,  no  matter  how  she  felt  nor  what  the 
demands  of  the  afternoon  or  evening,  she  spent 
among  the  sick,  the  wounded,  or  the  imprisoned. 
She  was  their  sister  of  mercy,  their  angel  of 
hope. 

356 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

One  day,  as  she  was  passing  down  a  street 
in  the  concentration  camp  on  her  usual  errand 
of  mercy  and  kindness,  she  saw  a  girl  leaning 
with  white  cheeks  and  closed  eyes,  scarce 
shadowed  by  the  short  black  curls  that  fell 
languidly  about  her  face,  back  against  the 
stays  of  a  tent.  Struck  by  something  strangely, 
yet,  oh!  so  faintly  familiar  in  the  girl's  look, 
she  stopped  and  gazed  at  her.  The  pale  girl 
'opened  her  eyes.  Martha  started.  A  feeling 
of  cold  apprehension  seized  her  heart,  but  of 
what  she  could  not  tell.  An  instinctive  fear — 
it  was  not,  could  not  be,  dislike  or  repulsion — 
of  the  pale  girl  rose  within  her.  She  could  not 
understand  it.  Then,  because  she  was  Martha 
Maritz,  she  crushed  it  down  at  once  and  for- 
ever. She  advanced  toward  the  girl. 

"What  is  your  name?"  was,  against  her 
will,  the  first  thing  she  said. 

The  other  half  rose  with  astonished  eyes 
from  the  bench  on  which  she  was  seated.  "  My 
name?  It  is  Bettie  Uys.  But  why"— 

Martha  held  out  her  impulsive  hands  and 
slipped  to  the  bench  beside  her.  "I  do  not 
357 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

know,  my  dear,"  she  said.  "Forgive  me  for 
the  rudeness;  but  your  face  attracted  me 
strongly.  Lean  back  again  as  you  were.  You 
look  ill.  Have  you  been  ill?" 

"I  have  been  in  the  hospital  nearly  six 
weeks  with  typhoid.  They  thought  that  I  was 
going  to  die,"  answered  Bettie,  simply. 

"Oh!"  said  Martha,  shocked.  "That  is  why 
I  did  not  see  you  there.  I  come  from  Pieter- 
maritzburg  every  day  to  see  my  poor  people, 
and  try  to  help  and  comfort  them ;  for  they  are 
my  people,  although  I  was  born  in  Natal  and 
am  an  English  subject.  Are  you  here  alone?" 

"No,"  answered  Bettie,  still  a  little  dazed, 
"  my  mother  and  my  little  brother  are  here, 
too.  We  came  from  Ermelo." 

With  a  sudden  determination  Martha  jumped 
up.  "Show  me  your  mother,  take  me  to  your 
mother.  I  must  see  her  and  Colonel  West  at 
once.  I  know  him  very  well,  and  he  will  do 
just  what  I  say." 

What  Colonel  West  was  to  do  the  surprised 
Bettie  had  no  idea.  But  she  obeyed  her  im- 
pulsive little  visitor,  and  called  her  mother. 
358 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Martha  had  a  long  talk  with  Mrs.  Uys,  and 
then  went  straight  back  up  the  street  to  Col- 
onel West's  office. 

That  afternoon  Martha  returned  in  her  car- 
riage, and  took  Bettie  back  with  her  to  Pieter- 
maritzburg  on  a  three  weeks'  leave  of  absence 
granted  by  the  gallant  commander  of  the 
camp. 

Bettie  thrived  like  a  sunned  and  watered 
•flower  in  the  luxurious  shelter  of  the  Maritz 
home  and  under  the  fostering  care  her  tender 
hostesses  bestowed  on  her.  Every  hour  of  her 
presence  there  helped  to  restore  the  bloom  to 
her  cheeks,  the  glow  to  her  now  shortened 
curls,  and  their  old  brightness  to  her  eyes. 
Those  comforts  of  civilisation  which  she  had 
done  so  long  without,  and  the  lack  of  which 
had  broken  down  her  system  and  brought  her 
to  the  gates  of  death,  played  no  small  part  in 
her  rapid  recovery.  A  week  of  daily  drives 
with  Martha,  of  proper  food  properly  prepared, 
of  sound  and  comfortable  sleep  at  night  in  the 
long  unwonted  luxury  of  a  real  bed,  served  so 
to  set  her  up  that  her  new  friends  hardly  rec- 
359 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

ognised  her  from  day  to  day,  so  appreciably 
and  agreeably  did  her  appearance  change.  The 
advent  of  her  mother  and  brother,  whom 
Martha  also  rescued  from  the  durance  of  Col- 
onel West's  camp,  helped  greatly  toward  the 
improvement  of  her  condition.  But  Martha 
was  still  and  constantly  haunted  by  a  misty 
recollection  of  her  face.  With  this  recollec- 
tion, which  she  could  not  place  or  account  for, 
a  dark  anxiety,  or  rather  dread,  was  coupled 
in  her  mind.  On  many  an  occasion  when  her 
pretty  guest  was  occupied  with  her  book  or 
needlework,  or  with  others,  Martha  studied 
her  face  in  a  desperate  mental  effort  to  re- 
member where  she  had  seen  it,  what  it  meant 
to  her.  But  she  could  not  solve  the  problem. 
One  of  the  most  frequent  of  Martha's  guests 
and  companions  during  the  previous  month 
had  been  a  certain  Major  Arthur  Campbell, 
whose  acquaintance  she  had  made  during  the 
winter  of  1900,  at  which  time  he  had  been 
stationed  at  Pietermaritzburg.  He  had  re- 
turned— or  rather  been  brought  back — into 
Natal  six  or  seven  weeks  before  from  the  Cape 
360 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Colony,  where  in  a  desperate  fight  at  Crad- 
ock,  in  which  with  a  much  inferior  force  he 
had  routed  and  dispersed  one  of  the  numerous 
Free  State  commandos  then  operating  in  that 
colony,  he  had  been  severely  wounded.  Upon 
his  arrival  at  Pietermaritzburg  the  hospital 
surgeons  had  been  obliged  to  amputate  his  left 
arm,  which  had  been  badly  shattered.  After 
his  recovery,  which  had  been  rapid,  he  had 
devoted  a  noticeable  proportion  of  the  time 
which  hung  upon  his  hands  to  calling  upon  the 
Maritzes  and  to  serving  Martha  in  the  capacity 
of  escort  or  chief  of  staff  in  her  many  expedi- 
tions of  relief  and  ministry  to  the  wounded 
prisoners  of  war  and  among  the  mournful  in- 
mates of  the  concentration  camp. 

One  morning,  after  Bettie  had  been  in  the 
house  some  days,  he  called  at  his  usual  hour 
to  ask,  as  he  smilingly  put  it,  for  his  "orders 
of  the  day."  Martha  received  him  with  the 
more  than  ordinary  cordiality  she  had  consist- 
ently shown  him  ever  since  his  misfortune. 

"Sit  down  and  talk  to  me,  Captain  Camp- 
bell. I  am  not  going  out  this  morning.  We 
361 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

can  have  a  social  little  chat  together  at  the 
expense  of  nobody's  conscience."  And  she 
drew  a  comfortable  chair  into  the  sunniest 
window,  setting  another  near  it  for  herself. 

He  sat  down,  and  talked  commonplaces  for 
a  few  minutes.  But  a  gradual  uneasiness  or 
embarrassment  grew  upon  him,  and  he  soon 
rose  to  his  feet  and  began  walking  up  and 
down  before  her.  She  looked  up  at  him  in 
innocent  surprise. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter  with  you,  you 
restless  invalid?  You  are  not  yet  as  strong 
as  you  ought  to  be;  and,"  she  smiled,  "with 
an  easy-chair  to  sit  in  and  a  pretty  girl  to  talk 
to,  you  ought  to  be  content  to  remain  quiet." 

He  stopped  abruptly  in  front  of  her.  "  That 
is  just  the  trouble,  Miss  Maritz,"  he  broke  out, 
blushing  painfully.  "I  could  always  supply 
both  the  easy-chair  and  the  comfortable  content 
if  I  could  have  the  pretty  girl  all  my  life." 

Her   face   grew   pale.    She   rose    with   dire 

apprehension   in   her  heart,   half   opened   her 

lips,  and  lifted  her  hand  as  if  to  hush  him. 

Being  once  started,  however,  he  kept  stolidly 

362 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

on,  his  face  burning,  his  single  hand  fumbling 
nervously  with  the  back  of  his  chair,  but  with 
his  eyes  fixed  bravely  on  her  face. 

"I  did  not  mean  to  say  what  I  have  said," 
he  continued.  "I  never  meant  to  trouble  you 
or  sadden  you  with  my  feelings.  But  they 
got  away  from  me ;  and,  as  I  have  said  so  much, 
I  will  go  on  and  say  it  all.  I  love  you.  I 
have  loved  you  ever  since  I  first  saw  you  a 
year  and  a  half  ago.  •  But  I  have  always  felt — 
I  feel  now — that  there  is  little  or  no  chance  of 
your  ever  regarding  me  as  I  would  like  to 
have  you.  No," — as  he  saw  her  attempt  to 
speak, — "do  not  stop  me  now.  I  must  go 
through  with  it.  I  know  that  I  am  a  cripple, 
and  shall  be  half  helpless  all  the  rest  of  my 
life,  and  that  for  that  very  reason  I  have  no 
right  to  ask  any  woman  to  share  her  lot 
with  mine.  I  tell  you  that  I  realise  the  fact 
even  more  clearly  than  you  can,  for  it  is  I  who 
suffer  from  it  day  and  night.  And  yet  now, 
coward  that  I  am,  I  am  asking  you  to  marry 
me, — without  any  hope  of  your  caring  for  me 
enough  to  do  so,"  he  added  hurriedly,  as  he 
363 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

saw  her  lips  again  begin  to  move.  "But,  if 
you  could,  Martha,— 0  God!  if  you  could"— 
He  was  suddenly  silent,  and  looked  at  her  with 
half  a  hope  almost  daring  to  dawn  hi  his  eyes. 

Her  own  were  filled  with  tears  of  the  sin- 
cerest  sorrow.  She  shook  her  head. 

"It  is  impossible,"  she  whispered,  "although 
you  are  very  dear  to  me  as  a  friend.  But  you 
are  an  enemy  of  my  real  country,  and — and" — 
She  clasped  her  hands  together  in  her  emotion. 
"But  I — I  would  never  have  you  believe  that 
it  was  on  account  of  your  poor  arm  that  I 
would  not  marry  you!  If  I  could  love  you 
as  much — as  much  as  that, — I  should  never 
think  of  it,  or,  rather,  it  would  be  something 
to  make  me  more  loving,  more  helpful,  more 
tender  to  you  than  ever.  It  is  not  all  the  fact 
that  you  are  English,  either,  although  on  that 
account  I  should  cut  myself  off  from  my  coun- 
trymen for  years.  But  that  would  be  nothing. 
There  is—  Oh,  go  now,  and  forgive  me;  and 
come  back  to-morrow  as  you  were,  a  friend!" 

His  face  was  white  as  he  held  out  his  hand. 
"I  shall  have  to  go  forever,"  he  said  sorrow- 
364 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

fully.  "For  I  could  not  return  as  I  was. 
Good-bye." 

She  let  him  go. 

As  he  moved  toward  the  door,  it  was  sud- 
denly thrown  open,  and  Bettie  ran  in  with  a 
horror-stricken  face,  holding  an  open  news- 
paper in  her  hand.  He  had  to  jump  back  to 
avoid  her.  But  the  girl  did  not  see  him.  She 
ran  straight  to  Martha,  who  was  still  standing 
Ih  the  window. 

"Oh,"  she  gasped,  "oh,  they  are  going  to 
kill  him, — to  murder  him, — my  love,  my  own! 
What  can  I  do  to  save  him,  my  God!"  She 
stumbled  over  a  chair,  and  fell  into  it,  half 
fainting. 

Campbell,  who  had  sprung  after  her  as  he 
thought  to  see  her  fall,  took  the  paper  from 
her  hands,  and  glanced  at  the  spot  at  which 
she  held  her  finger.  He  gave  a  cry  of  aston- 
ishment and  horror  almost  equal  to  her  own, 
and  read  the  paragraph  aloud: — 

"The  Boer  commandant,  Daniel  Linde,  who 
was  wounded  and  captured  at  Maatjesfontein 
on  the  18th  of  November  after  a  desperate 
365 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

struggle  at  the  railroad,  was  last  week  sentenced 
by  a  court-martial  held  in  the  same  town  to 
be  shot  for  his  numerous  illegal  acts  of  war. 
The  sentence  was  sent  to  Pretoria  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  for  confirmation.  The  con- 
firmation, which  has  been  delayed,  is  expected 
to  arrive  at  any  moment." 
"Oh!"  he  cried  again.  "Linde!  My"— 
He  was  interrupted  from  behind.  "Let  me 
see  it,"  whispered  Martha,  tensely.  Her  face, 
as  pale  and  cold  as  marble,  was  bending  over 
his  arm,  her  odorous  hair  nearly  touching  his 
cheek,  while  her  burning  eyes  sought  the  page. 
She  read  the  little  paragraph  in  silence,  once, 
twice,  slowly  and  again.  Then  she  raised 
her  regard  to  his.  "What  can  be  done,  in- 
deed?" she  asked  in  tones  of  utter  grief. 

Campbell's  own  feelings  were  such  that  he 
had  hardly  noticed  the  new  expression  of  horror 
on  his  beloved's  face,  the  pitiful  agony  in  her 
eyes.  But  it  suddenly  struck  him  that  here 
was  something  more  than  mere  sympathy 
seemed  to  warrant.  "Did  you  know  him, 
also?"  he  cried. 

366 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

"Ah!"  she  said  with  a  new  look  in  her 
eyes,  "then  you  did!  It  was  /  who  saved  him, 
who  helped  him  to  his  escape  from  the  prison- 
hospital  here  in  Pietermaritzburg  more  than  a 
year  ago.  It  is  you,  you  alone,  who  can  save 
him  now." 

Before  the  man  had  comprehended  more 
than  half  the  import  of  her  tones,  her  words, 
Bettie,  who  had  caught  the  sense  of  the  last, 
ran  forward  to  Campbell,  and  hung  upon  his 
arm. 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  wailed,  "whoever  you  are, 
have  pity.  You  can  save  him,  you  must  save 
him.  He  is  mine!  Do  not  let  them  take  him 
from  me  forever!" 

Martha  had  forgotten  the  very  existence  of 
the  girl  in  her  first  terrible  stress  of  emotion  at 
hearing  of  Danie's  fate.  But,  as  she  looked 
at  her  now  in  astonishment,  there  suddenly 
arose  before  her  eyes  the  picture  of  a  man 
dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  British  captain  of 
cavalry,  standing  at  a  window  in  a  little  house 
near  by,  gazing  intently  at  a  locket  on  his  wrist. 
And  the  portrait  at  which  he  was  gazing  was 
367 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

that  of  the  girl  who  stood  before  her!  The 
memory  rushed  upon  her  mind  with  all  com- 
pleteness. Here  was  the  resemblance,  the  rec- 
ollection that  so  long  had  puzzled  and  dis- 
turbed her.  This  was  the  girl  who  had  stared 
so  calmly  out  at  her  from  the  miniature  while 
her  very  heart  was  breaking  within  her!  This 
was  the  girl  for  whom  she  had  saved  the  man 
whom  now  neither  of  them  had  power  to  save 
again, — for  whom  she  would  then,  as  now,  have 
saved  him  at  the  cost  of  her  own  life,  had  it 
come  to  that,  with  glad  and  utter  resignation! 
Because  she  loved  him.  And  she  loved  him 
still.  The  second  renunciation  was  at  hand. 

"I  know  you  now,  Bettie  Uys,"  she  said 
gently.  "I  have  seen  your  face  before,  even 
in  the  bracelet  which  Mr.  Linde  wore.  He 
showed  it  to  me  the  night  he  escaped  from 
Pietermaritzburg.  Trust  me,  my  dear,  we  will 
save  his  life  again.  I  promise  you  we  will  do 
so." 

She  led  the  half-conscious  girl  to  the  chair, 
and  laid  her  back  in  it,  kissing  her  forehead 
softly.  Then  she  crossed  again  to  Campbell, 
368 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

and  said  with  a  quivering  voice :  "  You  told  me 
a  few  minutes  ago  that  you  would — could 
never  return  to  me  on  the  old  footing.  But 
go  now,  at  once,  to  Pretoria.  You  have  in- 
fluence: you  have  deserved  reward.  See  the 
commander-in-chief, — see  whom  you  can  in 
power.  Save  Mr.  Linde's  life  for — for  Bettie's 
sake.  Then, — when  you  have  done  so," — she 
lowered  her  eyes  and  dropped  her  tone  to  a 
Wnisper  he  could  scarcely  hear, — "then  come 
back  to  me  as — as  you  wish." 

He  raised  her  cold  hand  to  his  lips,  and  was 
gone. 

Two  days  later  a  telegram  was  brought  to 
Martha.  She  opened  it  with  a  chill  of  terror. 
It  contained  just  six  words:  "Sentence  com- 
muted. I  am  coming  back."  She  called  the 
trembling  Bettie,  handed  it  to  her  silently, 
with  averted  face,  and  then,  escaping  to  her 
own  room,  threw  herself  on  her  bed  in  a  par- 
oxysm of  tears. 


369 


CHAPTER    XL 


ON  the  morning  of  the  memorable  1st  of 
June,  1902,  the  church  bells  of  every 
town  and  village  hi  South  Africa  pealed  forth 
the  happy  tidings  of  peace  as  the  news  from 
Pretoria  was  flashed  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  continent.  The  war  was  over. 

In  a  small,  square,  whitewashed  cell  of  the 
big  prison  at  Graaff  Reinet  a  lonely  prisoner, 
sitting  mournfully  on  his  little  pallet,  raised 
his  head.  Through  the  narrow,  barred  open- 
ing of  the  window  high  in  the  wall  above  him 
came  the  stirring  and  unwonted  sound  of  the 
merry  chimes  from  the  bell-towers  down  the 
long  street.  Faint  shouts  of  an  apparently 
joyful  tenor,  the  far  but  seemingly  hilarious 
murmurs  of  a  crowd,  accompanied  the  ringing. 
What  had  happened?  he  asked  himself.  Had 
the  English  won  another  great  victory  over 
his  miserable  countrymen?  He  laid  his  face 
hi  his  hands,  and  groaned  aloud. 

After  waiting  two  weeks  at  Maatjesfontein 
for  the  confirmation  of  his  death  sentence  to 
370 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

arrive  from  army  headquarters,  Danie  had  one 
day  been  taken  out  under  guard  to  a  train, 
and  carried  to  Graaff  Reinet — a  little  town  in 
the  eastern  centre  of  the  colony — by  way  of 
De  Aar  Junction  and  Middelburg,  thus  crossing 
for  the  second  time  the  Richmond  district  which 
he  had  on  the  first  occasion  of  his  passing  swept 
from  end  to  end  with  his  brave  commando. 
He  was  told  nothing,  while  on  the  way,  of  his 
fate  or  of  his  destination.  Upon  his  arrival 
he  had  been  taken  straight  to  the  prison,  and 
put  into  the  cell  he  had  since  occupied  for  six 
long,  weary  months.  Had  his  sentence  been 
confirmed?  He  did  not  know.  There  were 
tunes  when  he  even  feared  that  it  had  not. 
Even  death  itself  was  better  than  this  living 
death;  for  he  had  no  expectation  of  ever  leav- 
ing his  prison  except  for  a  worse  one,  possibly 
Saint  Helena.  As  for  Bettie,  she  was  dead. 
He  had  made  up  his  mind  to  that.  What  was 
there  then  to  live  for?  Why  did  they  make 
him  live? 

His  country,  too,  he  assured  himself  for  the 
hundredth  time,  sitting  there  in  his  solitary 
371 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

cell,  was  dead  or  dying.  The  merry  bells, 
the  joyful  shouts  outside,  but  announced  an- 
other, possibly  the  last  blow  struck  at  its  fad- 
ing life.  More  misery! 

Suddenly  the  door  of  his  cell  was  flung  wide, 
and  his  burly,  red-faced  jailer  stamped  jovially 
in,  accompanied  by  a  strong  smell  of  liquor. 
How  strangely  he  was  acting,  thought  Danie, 
raising  his  head  hi  his  surprise;  but  he  had  no 
time  for  further  thought.  The  man  grasped 
his  hand,  and  shook  it  strenuously. 

"Come  out,  you  chappie,"  he  said  with  a 
broad  grin, — "come  out!  What  are  you  stay- 
ing in  this  dirty  place  for?  Come  out!  You 
are  free.  It's  peace, — peace,  I  tell  you!  I 
got  my  orders  to  release  all  my  prisoners  this 
morning.  Come  out,  and  have  a  drink!" 

Danie  was  so  dazed  that  he  hardly  under- 
stood what  the  man  was  saying;  but,  taught 
a  strange  obedience  by  his  prison  life,  he  rose, 
and  followed  mechanically  without  objection. 
It  was  not  until  they  had  passed  out  of  the 
prison  gates  into  the  free  air  and  sunlight  of 
the  street  outside  that  he  noticed  that  he  was 
372 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

unguarded,  unwatched.  He  turned,  trembling, 
to  his  erst- while  jailer. 

"  What  was  it  you  were  saying  a  minute  ago, 
— about  peace,  or  my  being  free,  or  something?" 

The  other  roared  with  great  laughter,  and 
clapped  him  on  the  shoulder.  "Well,  danp 
if  the  cuss  don't  want  to  go  back!  W-ast 
man,"  he  shouted,  "peace  has  been  d^r;  but 
I^tell  you.  You're  no  Boer  now  asher,  like 
iree  man  in  every  sense  of  the  ^ie  to  his  lips, 
colonial,  you're  a  British  F  ./u 

understand?  That's  wha-astily  followed  hifgin' 
for!  That's  what  we'reurrah  which  >^k  tot 
Come  on  with  me!" 

The  trees,  the  people  in  the  street,  danced 
before  Danie's  eyes.  So  it  had  really  come  at 
last!  The  war  was  over!  The  Transvaal  was 
no  more,  and  he  himself  was  now  a  legal  sub- 
ject of  Great  Britain.  He  had  known  for  a 
long  time  that  it  would  come.  The  pangs,  the 
agony  of  his  first  realisation  of  the  inevitable 
end,  had  long  passed  away.  The  dull,  heavy 
grief  that  was  left,  that  filled  him  yet,  was 
nevertheless  unable  quite  to  still  or  even  to 
373 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

check  the  great  gladness  that  rose  within  him 

as  he  felt  that  he  was  free, — that  he  could  at 

last  look  the  trees,  the  grass,  the  flowers,  and 

the  birds  hi  the  face  without  let  or  hindrance, 

without  envy  or  shame!    He  threw  his  arms 

aloft,  and,  turning  his  mouth  upward,  drew 

"at  breaths  of  cold,  clean  ah*  into  his  lungs, 

How  T  his  face  in  the  full  sunlight.    Yes,  if 

raising  i.  Britisn  subject,  he  was  also  a  free 

time  for  fu^k  Bettie  (ghe  might  n(^  ^^ 

a]his  hand,  and  sho^rents>  Mg  friends,-those 

that"Come  out'  y°u  i    Baakenhoogte-home! 

The  de&F™>— "come-ocks,  the  trees,  the  little 

stream,  would  still  remain.    They  could  not 

have  taken  away  or  destroyed  nature  itself! 

He  followed  the  lead  of  his  old  jailer — now 
his  jailer  no  longer,   thank   God! — across  the 
street  to  the  tap-room.    A  vociferous,  cheer- 
ing, shouting  crowd  stood  in  front  of  the  bar, 
almost  filled   the  room.    It  was  very  evident 
that  something  of  importance  had   happened. 
The  jailer  jumped  on  top  of  the  bar  itself, 
covered  as  it  was  with  glasses  and  bottles.    Not 
at  all  disturbed  by  the  crash  which  followed  the 
374 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

intrusion  of  his  clumsy  feet  among  the  crock- 
ery and  glassware,  he  seized  a  bottle  from  the 
wood  beside  him  and  held  it  high. 

"Silence!"  he  shouted,  "silence!  I  want 
you  gentlemen  to  drink  with  me — line  up,  all 
of  you — to  the  health  of  this  gentleman  here. 
His  name  is  Linde, — Commandant  Linde !  Last 
night  he  was  still  a  Boer  and  a  prisoner;  but 
now,  by  God,  he's  a  true  blue  Britisher,  like 
ourselves!"  He  raised  the  bottle  to  his  lips, 
and  drank  long  and  deep. 

The  surprised  crowd  hastily  followed  his  ex- 
ample, after  a  short  hurrah  which  testified, 
perhaps,  as  much  to  their  appreciation  of  the 
hospitality  of  their  entertainer  as  to  their  feel- 
ing for  the  new-made  subject  of  His  Majesty. 
However,  those  who  formed  with  the  em- 
barrassed Boer  the  outskirt  of  the  assemblage, 
either  through  choice  or  through  inability  to 
force  their  way  to  the  front,  turned  to  him, 
and  shook  his  hand  until  it  ached,  with  every 
evidence  of  kindliness  and  welcome. 

Thus  was  Danie  initiated  into  the  brother- 
hood of  Britons. 

375 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

As  he  passed  out  into  the  street  five  minutes 
later,  homeless,  penniless,  hungry,  friendless, — 
having  said  farewell  to  the  riotous  crowd  and 
their  leader,  his  late  guardian,  in  the  tap- 
room where  it  was  apparent  they  meant  to 
spend  the  rest  of  the  day, — he  felt  some  one 
touch  him  on  the  shoulder.  A  well-dressed 
man  with  a  sad  face  partly  covered  by  a  grey 
beard  stood  at  his  elbow. 

"Commandant,"  said  the  stranger,  speaking 
hi  Dutch,  "my  name  is  Ockert  Els.  I  am  a 
Colonial  Boer.  I  shall  feel  greatly  honoured  if 
you  will  come  and  spend  the  night  at  my  house, 
and  allow  me  to  offer  you  the  assistance  neces- 
sary to  carry  you  back  to  the  Transvaal,  where 
I  suppose  your  heart  is  urging  you.  I  can  well 
imagine  that  you  have  no  means  left  after  what 
you  have  gone  through." 

Tears  of  gratitude  started  to  Danie's  eyes. 
He  held  out  his  hand.  "I  will  accept  your 
offer  with  all  my  heart,  Mr.  Els,"  he  stam- 
mered. "  As  you  say,  I  have  nothing  left  me, — 
nothing;  and  I  was  wondering  to  myself  how 
in  the  world  I  should  ever  get  home  to  my 
376 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

friends  and  family.  I  rather  fear  that  my 
brother  Englishmen  in  there  would  forget  that 
I  had  become  a  Briton,  and  only  remember 
that  I  was  a  Boer  and  an  enemy,  if  it  were 
proposed  that  I  should  share  anything  more 
than  a  drink  with  them." 

He  went  with  Mr.  Els  to  his  house,  where 
he  received  the  greatest  kindness  and  consid- 
*  eration  from  each  one  of  the  family.  The 
next  morning,  provided  with  respectable  cloth- 
ing and  funds  enough  to  proceed  to  Lyden- 
burg  by  rail,  Danie  shook  the  dust  of  Graaff 
Reinet  from  his  feet. 

At  Middelburg  hi  the  Transvaal  he  heard 
that  his  parents  were  still  there  in  the  concen- 
tration camp.  He  left  the  train,  and  crossed 
through  the  town  to  the  camp,  that  lay  spread 
against  the  slope  of  the  randt  beside  the  river. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  camp  he  inquired  from 
the  British  sentry  still  on  duty  the  location  of 
Fanie  Linde's  tent. 

"  It's  the  third  tent  down  the  second  street, 
on  the  right,  sir,"  answered  the  man,  politely; 
"but  old  Linde  died  some  months  ago." 
377 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

Danie  stopped  short.  His  heart  froze  within 
him  at  the  dreadful  news.  But  he  said  nothing, 
and,  recovering  himself,  at  once  walked  on. 

The  flaps  of  the  tent  were  not  drawn  back, 
but  hung  loosely,  closing  its  entrance.  With 
his  blood  pounding  at  his  pulses,  he  cautiously 
drew  one  of  them  aside,  and  peered  in.  His 
mother  and  two  sisters,  dressed  in  such  poor 
mourning  as  they  had  been  able  to  collect,  sat 
despondently  on  their  rough,  unmattressed 
cots.  Their  faces  were  browned  by  the  long 
camp  We;  but  otherwise  how  changed!  Their 
cheeks  and  temples  were  thin  and  sunken, 
their  faded  eyes,  tired  by  much  weeping,  lacked 
lustre,  even  interest.  Nevertheless,  as  the 
tent  flap  was  lifted  and  the  unexpected  light 
broke  in  on  their  dismal  surroundings,  they 
looked  up  startled  at  the  face  within  the  en- 
trance. 

None  of  them  recognised  him.  Well,  if  that 
white-haired  old  woman  was  his  mother,  these 
two  thin,  sickly  women  his  pretty  sisters,  why, 
perhaps  he,  too,  had  changed  more  than  he 
thought.  He  stifled  his  disappointment. 
378 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUK 

"Goeden  dag,  Moeder,"  he  said,  smiling  at 
her. 

Ah,  that  was  his  voice!  That  voice  neither 
the  lapse  of  years  nor  the  semi-obscurity  hi 
which  he  stood  could  change,  could  prevent 
her  recognising.  With  a  great  cry  she  was 
about  his  neck  hi  an  instant. 
_  "0  Danie,  0  my  boy,"  she  sobbed,  "is  it 
you, — is  it  really  you?  Have  you  come  back 
to  me  once  more?  Thank  God!  Thank  God! 
Oh,  if  your  poor  father" —  She  broke  com- 
pletely down.  He  picked  her  wasted  body  up 
in  his  arms,  and  carried  her  over  to  her  cot, 
and  laid  her  down,  kneeling  beside  her. 

"I  know,  dear  mother,— I  know,"  he  whis- 
pered. "I  was  told — outside.  But  I  have 
come  to  take  you  home,  and  there  is  not  to 
be  any  more  war  or  any  more  parting." 

He  soothed  her  agitation  with  words  and 
caresses,  at  the  same  time  drawing  his  sisters 
down  beside  him.  "Dear  Lenie,  dear  Elsie!" 
he  said,  embracing  them  with  his  free  arm. 
"Oh,  how  that  bright  hair  is  faded!  How 
white  and  pinched  your  faces  are,  dear  girls! 
379 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

But  we  are  going  back, — going  home!  And 
six  months  at  Baakenhoogte  will  bring  the 
shine  and  the  flesh  and  the  roses  back.  We 
will  build  the  old  place  up  as  it  was  before, — 
all  the  kraals  and  the  sheds  and  your  flower 
gardens  in  the  same  old  places.  There  is  some 
of  the  house  yet  standing.  I  saw  the  place  a 
year  ago.  It  shall  be  all  the  same!"  But  with 
the  assurance  the  thought  of  his  father  came 
to  him,  and  he  bit  his  lip  and  was  silent.  No, 
it  could  never  be  quite  the  same  again. 

The  next  day  Danie  managed  to  borrow  some 
money  of  one  of  his  father's  old  friends,  and 
arranged  with  the  authorities  for  the  loan  of 
a  team  of  oxen,  a  wagon,  and  a  tent  to  serve 
as  a  shelter  on  the  farm  until  he  could  rebuild, 
at  least  in  part,  the  house. 

Then,  with  his  mother  and  sisters,  he  started 
on  the  seventy-mile  trek  for  Lydenburg  and 
home. 


380 


CHAPTER    XII. 


IT  was  indeed  a  sad  home-coming.  The 
once  beautiful  farmstead  was  now  a  miser- 
able heap  of  ruins.  The  few  bare  walls  still 
standing  could  not  be  depended  upon  as  supports 
for  new  floors  or  a  new  roof,  weakened  and 
shaken  as  they  had  been  by  the  flames  that 
so  long  ago  had  surged  about  them.  The  trees 
and  hedges  that  had  surrounded  the  house  at 
the  time  of  its  destruction  were  yet  bare  of 
leaves,  the  scorched  and  naked  branches  reach- 
ing out  like  appealing  arms  to  the  serene  skies 
above  them.  The  stones  of  the  kraals  were 
overgrown  with  the  grass  that  covered  them, 
as  if  trying  to  conceal,  not  only  their  pitiful 
remnants,  but  the  very  places  of  their  location. 
Danie  set  to  work  with  feverish  energy  to 
construct  as  comfortable  a  temporary  dwelling 
for  his  little  family  as  he  could  with  the  work 
of  his  own  hands.  The  few  Kaffirs  who  occu- 
pied the  wrecks  of  the  native  huts  on  the  place 
could  not  be  induced  to  work  for  their  old 
employers.  The  English,  they  stated  had 
381 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

taken  the  country,  so  that  the  farm  no  longer 
belonged  to  the  Lindes;  and  they  themselves, 
having  assisted  the  British  troops  hi  their  con- 
quest, were,  according  to  the  promises  of  the 
English  officers,  the  rightful  owners  of  the 
soil.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to  threaten 
Danie  with  violence;  and  he  was  obliged  to 
seek  protection  from  the  authorities  stationed, 
during  the  interregnum,  at  Lydenburg.  Such, 
and  worse,  were  the  conditions  that  for  a  while 
obtained  in  the  Transvaal  after  the  end  of  the 
war. 

He  was  wild  with  desire  to  see  or  hear  from 
Bettie,  although  his  extreme  anxiety  and  un- 
certainty had  been  partly  stilled  by  the  infor- 
mation given  him  by  his  sisters  on  the  way 
home,  to  the  effect  that  they  had  learned  a 
month  before  that  Bettie  was  recovered  from 
her  illness  and  living  in  comfort  at  Pieter- 
maritzburg.  But  he  felt  it  to  be  his  first  duty 
to  provide  some  sort  of  comfort  for  his  widowed 
mother  and  his  sisters  before  he  could  decently 
leave  them  to  seek  the  girl  of  his  heart.  So 
he  resolutely  set  his  desires  aside,  and  toiled 
382 


"Before  hint  stood  Uettie,  . .  .  her  arms  out- 
stretched" (seepage  3S6) 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUB 

faithfully  and  energetically  on  in  his  work  of 
restoration  and  evolution. 

Toward  the  end  of  July,  Danie  obtained 
possession,  after  a  deal  of  trouble,  of  his  father's 
interdicted  moneys.  He  was  then  enabled  to 
buy  the  necessary  building  material  for  the 
construction  of  new  buildings,  and  to  restock 
the  farm. 

By  the  end  of  the  next  month  Baakenhoogte 
had  resumed  much  of  its  old  appearance.  The 
new  buildings  were  up, — though  some  of  them 
in  crude  fashion, — and  new  servants  indentured 
and  broken  in,  doing  their  work  under  the 
superintendence  of  two  of  Danie's  old  com- 
panions in  his  first  commando,  who  had  come 
to  make  with  him  all  the  home  they  expected 
to  care  for  further  in  this  world.  He  felt  now 
that  he  could  safely  and  honourably  leave  his 
mother  for  a  short  period  of  days,  while  he 
went  to  Ermelo.  For  the  Uyses  also  had  at 
last  returned. 

The  ten  miles  that  lay  between  Blaauwkop 
and  the  town  he  covered  within  the  hour.    As 
383 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

he  approached  the  vicinity  of  the  farm,  his 
heart  gave  a  great  leap;  for  over  the  wide  area 
that  used  to  proclaim  the  industry  and  pros- 
perity of  Dirk  Uys  he  saw  again  the  grazing 
sheep,  the  high-stacked  ricks  of  corn  and  grain, 
the  signs  of  the  tilled  and  cultivated  fields. 
Through  the  calm  afternoon  air  above  the  little 
randt  that  still  hid  the  farmstead  from  his 
sight  a  curling  wreath  of  smoke  rose  peacefully 
toward  the  track  of  the  sun.  With  the  ecstasy 
of  a  great  joy  surging  over  his  heart  he  moved 
to  the  top  of  the  rise  before  him. 

The  scene  that  met  his  eyes  was  one  of  peace- 
ful charm  and  promise  of  delight.  Blaauwkop, 
like  Baakenhoogte,  had  rerisen  from  its  ashes, 
though  smaller,  frailer,  less  substantial  than 
it  had  once  been.  But  the  gardens  grew  again, 
and  their  flowers  bloomed  about  its  walls  and 
doors.  He  sat  motionless,  breathless,  as  if 
carved  in  stone,  his  eyes  fixed  through  their 
glad  tears  on  the  quiet  dwelling.  Then  with 
a  great  cry  of  love  he  drove  his  spurs  into  his 
horse's  flanks,  and  dashed  down  the  well-re- 


384 


UNDER    THE    VIERKLEUR 

membered  road  to  the  home  of  his  beloved, 
the  treasury  of  his  happiness. 

He  flung  himself  from  his  horse  in  front  of 
the  house,  and  ran  up  the  little  stoep.  But, 
ere  he  could  reach  it,  the  door  was  opened. 
Before  him  stood  Bettie,  the  bright,  the  beau- 
tiful, with  rose-flushed  cheeks  and  shining  eyes, 
her  arms  outstretched. 

-K. 

THE  END. 


385 


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